Erica Zunkel : 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
Intensive Trial Practice Workshop
LAWS 67503
This practicum teaches trial preparation, trial advocacy, and strategy through a variety of teaching techniques, including lectures and demonstrations, but primarily through simulated trial exercises. Topics include opening statements, witness preparation, direct and cross examination, expert witnesses, objections at trial, and closing argument. Practicing lawyers and judges are enlisted to provide students with lectures and critiques from varied perspectives. The practicum concludes with a simulated jury trial presided over by sitting state and federal court judges.
Open to J.D. students only.
Evidence is a prerequisite.
Students taking the Intensive Trial Practice Workshop may enroll in Pre-Trial Advocacy.
Completion of this workshop partially satisfies one of the requirements for admission to the trial bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
This practicum is open only to students entering their 3L year and limited to 54 with preference given to students who have been accepted into a Clinic course.
Students who have taken Trial Advocacy (LAWS 67603), Poverty and Housing Law Clinic (LAWS 90512), or Trial Practice: Strategy and Advocacy (LAWS 91702) may not take this course.
The student's grade is based on class participation.
This practicum meets everyday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (sometimes later) for two weeks starting September 10. The simulated trial will be on September 22, time TBD.
Autumn 2012
Herschella G. Conyers, Erica Zunkel, Craig B. Futterman, Randolph N. Stone
