Alison Siegler : Courses and Seminars
Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Spring 2013
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Autumn 2012
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
Federal Criminal Justice Clinic
LAWS 67513
The Federal Criminal Justice Clinic zealously represents indigent defendants charged with federal crimes while giving students a unique opportunity to practice in federal district court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCJC is the first legal clinic in the country to exclusively represent clients charged with federal felonies. The clinic’s cases fall into two categories. The first category consists of cases we enter at the time of the arrest, carry through the district court to trial or guilty plea and sentencing, and then carry through appeal and beyond. The second category consists of cases we become involved in at a later stage of the proceedings because they present a novel legal issue or an issue on which there is a circuit split. We raise the legal issue at the district court level, handle or assist in any appeals that arise on the issue, and, if necessary, litigate the issue all the way to the United States Supreme Court. FCJC students are generally assigned to cases in teams of two. Students interview clients and witnesses; meet regularly with clients at the federal jail; conduct and participate in bond hearings, preliminary hearings, arraignments, plea hearings, sentencing hearings, and trials; write and argue motions and briefs; negotiate with prosecutors and probation officers; and participate in investigations. The seminar component includes skills exercises, simulations, lectures, and discussions.
Students enter the FCJC in their 3L year, must spend a full year in the FCJC, and must put a minimum of two credits towards the clinic per quarter (a ten-hour-per-week time commitment). The pre-requisites/co-requisites are Evidence and Criminal Procedure I; these courses may be taken at any time during 2L or 3L year. It is strongly recommended that students interested in joining the FCJC take Professor Siegler’s Federal Sentencing seminar during 2L year, and take the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop at the beginning of 3L year.
Winter 2013
Erica Zunkel, Alison Siegler
Federal Sentencing: Balancing Judicial and Prosecutorial Discretion
LAWS 47602
The Supreme Court has dramatically changed the federal sentencing landscape in recent years, making federal sentencing the least settled and most dynamic area of federal criminal jurisprudence. This seminar examines the recent federal sentencing revolution in the context of the history of federal sentencing. We study the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and recent Supreme Court cases that struggle to define the Guidelines’ proper role in sentencing. A central focus of the seminar is the ongoing struggle to balance judicial discretion and prosecutorial discretion, and the fundamental tension this creates between the executive branch and the judiciary. The seminar also focuses on the debate over sentencing disparities. Reading materials are varied and include Supreme Court and lower court cases, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, law review articles, Sentencing Commission studies and reports, and Department of Justice internal directives. Various guest speakers will visit class, including a federal district court judge and an Assistant United States Attorney.
Each student is expected to research and write a 20-25 page paper in response to a specific assignment.
Students will be graded based on their written submissions and class participation. Second-year students interested in participating in the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic during their 3L year are encouraged to enroll in this seminar, although it is not a prerequisite or corequisite for the clinic.
Winter 2013
Alison Siegler
