The issues that students study in Criminal Law, Criminal
Procedure, and other criminal justice courses become real in the
Prosecution Clinic. In partnership with the Queens District
Attorney’s Office and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the
Prosecution Clinic allows students to see the criminal justice
system at work – not just by observing, but by actually prosecuting
real cases themselves. Working under the supervision of
Assistant District Attorneys, clinic students handle all aspects of
criminal prosecutions, from arraignments to motions hearings, from
trials to appeals. The goals of the clinic are simple: to
expose students to the work that prosecutors do, to give them
hands-on experience working as prosecutors, and, most importantly,
to make them think critically about the prosecutor's role in our
criminal justice system.
Students work 12-15 hours each week in one of two clinical
settings. Approximately ten students are assigned to the
Queens County District Attorney’s Office, where they work in the
Domestic Violence Bureau prosecuting crimes of domestic
violence. Approximately six students are assigned to the
Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, where they work either in
the Criminal Court Bureau prosecuting misdemeanor cases or in the
Appeals Bureau assisting senior prosecutors in researching and
drafting appellate briefs.
Students also meet for weekly class sessions, which cover such
subjects as the role of the prosecutor, prosecutorial ethics, plea
bargaining, motions and hearings, discovery, jury selection,
examination of witnesses, and appeals. In the class sessions,
students write briefs, conduct hearings, give oral arguments, and
examine witnesses.
The Clinic lasts for the full year, and students receive four
credits each semester (two pass-fail and two graded).
Criminal Procedure I and Evidence are co-requisites.
The Clinic is taught by Adjunct Professors Scott Kessler (Bureau
Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau in the Queens County District
Attorney’s Office) and Joseph McCormack (Deputy Bureau Chief of the
Criminal Court Bureau in the Bronx County District Attorney’s
Office). Prof. Michael Simons is the faculty coordinator for
the Clinic. Applications for the Clinic are submitted in the
Spring semester, and students are selected after an
interview. In selecting students, Professors Simons, Kessler,
and McCormack look for the same characteristics that the D.A.’s
Offices look for in hiring Assistant District Attorneys: superior
academic performance, a demonstrated interest in criminal law, and
a commitment to public service.