CJUS-P 493 Seminar in Criminal Justice: Defending the Accused
This course focuses on the role of defense attorneys in the American legal system. Perhaps more than any other member of the court work group, defense attorneys are polarizing figures. On the one hand, they are seen as the protector of individuals’ rights, as advocates for the underdog, and as protecting the innocent from the power of the state. On the other hand, defense attorneys are seen as lacking moral scruples, knowingly representing the guilty, and as actors for the state in encouraging their own clients to plead guilty. In this class we examine the basis of those conceptions and how they relate to the right to counsel. Generally, we will explore what the right to counsel means, how it is assigned, and how it is implemented. To the extent possible, this class will be conducted as a service-learning class. As such, you will work with different types of defense attorneys – private, public, assigned, and contract – on a project related to their practice.
*P493 is a repeatable course up to three times with varying seminars.
