Course Catalog – Juvenile Defense
5858 Juvenile Defense Clinic Practicum (3 for third-year students; 2 for second-year students)
This is an experiential clinical course in which third-year students are certified under Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XX and engage in the actual representation of juvenile defendants in delinquency proceedings before the East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court. Second-year students assist supervising professors and third-year students with representation. All students receive intensive training in litigation skills and close individual supervision by clinic faculty to ensure representation is consistent with best practices in juvenile and criminal defense. Third-year students make frequent court appearances and have the opportunity to engage in plea bargaining, trial advocacy, and dispositional advocacy. All students gain experience in client interviewing and counseling, factual investigation, motions practice, trial preparation, and holistic advocacy. Students may also have the opportunity to engage in writs and appellate practice. Students meet as a group on a weekly basis to engage in case conferencing and universalize the learning arising from each individual representation experience. This course is graded on the 4.0 scale. Participation requires consent of the instructor, and preference is given to third-year students. There is a mandatory pre-semester orientation. Co-requisite: Juvenile Defense Clinic Course Component (LAW 5624).
5624 Juvenile Defense Clinic Course Component (2)
This is an experiential clinical course in which students receive intensive instruction in the substantive law, procedures, concepts, and skills needed to defend the juvenile clients served in the Juvenile Defense Clinic Practicum (LAW 5858). This course focuses equally on the constitutional rights and procedural protections held in common with criminally accused adults as well as the unique protections of juvenile court that make juvenile justice a specialized area of law. The course places a heavy emphasis on understanding the ethical duties of expressed interest representation and how those obligations are shaped in the juvenile defense context by the unique characteristics of adolescent development. Students also explore the underlying and often competing interests that shape juvenile justice policy reform efforts. This course is graded on the 4.0 scale. Participation requires consent of the instructor. Co-requisite: Juvenile Defense Clinic Practicum (LAW 5858).
