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L6656 Ex. Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem Community Defense

Section 001, Spring 2020

Instructors

Matthew Knecht

Seth Steed

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Section Information

Section Description Provided by Instructor

Year-long offering - students will be register during the Extersnhip enrollment process in Spring, for the Fall and Spring terms.

The Community Defense Externship offers students the opportunity to learn about and experience the practice of indigent criminal defense in a holistic community-based setting through a combination of lecture, discussion, research, writing, mooting and direct client representation of residents of Northern Manhattan facing criminal charges in New York County's criminal courts.

The Community Defense Externship is a year-long 8-credit offering and consists of a weekly seminar and a placement at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (NDS). During the field placement, the students will be responsible for all aspects of at least one misdemeanor case, beginning with the client interview and arraignment at New York County Criminal Court. Students will also be matched one-to-one with NDS Staff Attorneys and will spend the year assisting their attorneys in all aspects of their cases, including writing and researching motions, investigations, social service and mitigation work, plea bargaining, and preparing for pre-trial hearings, trials, and sentencing. Matt Knecht and Seth Steed will teach the course. Students should plan to avoid permanent scheduling commitments on Fridays, as to ensure adequate time for fieldwork. Occasional Friday commitments are permissible.

There are no prerequisites for this course but preference will be given to students who have taken Evidence and Criminal Procedure. Students who wish to take a Trial Practice course are encouraged to take Advanced Trial Practice after this externship or concurrently with it in the spring semester.

Semester
Spring 2020

Section
001

Schedule
W 4:20 pm-6:10 pm

Location
WCW 304

Points
2.0

Method of Evaluation
Other

J.D. Writing Credit
No

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Course Limitations

Instructor Pre-requisites
None

Instructor Co-requisites
None

Recommended Courses
None

Other Limitations
Admission is by instructor permission during the Externship application period - see the Social Justice Initiatives page for more information.

Learning Outcome Goals

Primary Goals

  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in a specific body of law, including major policy concerns
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in statutory and regulatory analysis, including close reading of statutes and regulations, and application to facts
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in ethical and professional issues
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in judicial, legislative and/or administrative processes
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in use of other disciplines in the analysis of legal problems and institutions, e.g., philosophy; economics,other social sciences; and cultural studies
  • At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in various lawyering skills, for example, oral advocacy, legal writing and drafting, legal research, negotiation, and client communication

General Information

Type: Externship
Level: Upperclass
Areas of Study: Criminal Law and Procedure, Clinics, Externships, and Experiential Learning, Legal Profession and Professional Responsibility
Additional Attributes: Experiential Credit

Other Sections

Section 001, Fall 2019
M 4:20 pm-6:10 pm
Matthew Knecht
Seth Steed

Section 002, Fall 2019
Matthew Knecht
Seth Steed

Section 002, Spring 2020
Matthew Knecht
Seth Steed