Equal Justice and Capital Defender Clinic

L02.2576/2577 Professor Bryan Stevenson Professor Anthony Amsterdam Professor Randy Susskind 3L students preferred Maximum of 12 students		Spring semester 14 credits* Pre- or Co-Requisite: Capital Punishment Law and Litigation is required (see "Qualifications for Applicants" below)

Introduction
The Equal Justice and Capital Defender Clinic will be offered to up to twelve students as a one-semester 14-credit course in the Spring Semester. The clinic will focus on the representation of Alabama death row prisoners in collateral and appellate litigation; 13 and 14-year-old children sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in the United States, and reform litigation conducted at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama that addresses bias against the poor and people of color within the criminal justice system.

Course Description
The course will focus on the preparation of appellate briefs and collateral litigation in Alabama capital cases where many death row prisoners are indigent and without legal assistance, and legal assistance to young children condemned to die in prison for offenses that were committed at age 13 or 14. Students will be involved in the development of strategies for successfully challenging unconstitutional convictions and sentences, the investigation and collection of information from clients and witnesses, and the review of documentary evidence. Students will also be required to aid in the development of non-litigation advocacy for indigent and condemned prisoners. 

Fieldwork
Students will work on pending cases that are currently being managed by the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama. Most students will spend several weeks in Alabama doing fieldwork during the Spring semester, which may include interviewing clients, client family members, and other potential mitigation witnesses, reviewing local court files, examining state documents and evidence, and collecting information through interviews with jurors, lawyers and other critical witnesses. There may be a couple of students who spend only a limited time in Alabama.

Students will have substantial responsibility in the preparation of petitions, briefs, motions and other litigation devices. Students may also work on impact litigation that is designed to improve the environment in which capital cases are litigated. Students will perform simulations of investigation interviews and other litigation techniques to enhance effectiveness in fieldwork. Students will also conduct moot arguments at the end of the term.

The Seminar
The seminar component of the course will complement the fieldwork with an intensive analysis of the legal, strategic, ethical and cultural issues which students confront in their cases, as well as a study of the broader political, social and institutional norms which influence litigation involving the death penalty or extreme sentences imposed on young children. The seminar will stress the importance of developing skills with respect to building relationships with clients, interviewing witnesses, identifying legal issues, and developing theories of relief. Cases assigned to students will be litigated in state and federal trial and appellate courts.

Clinic students will meet for two hours every two weeks during the Fall to begin preparation for the Spring clinic.

Qualifications for Applicants
The Equal Justice and Capital Defender Clinic will be offered in the Spring Semester. A prerequisite for enrolment in the clinic is that students must take Capital Punishment Law and Litigation in the Fall of 2008.

Application Procedure
Students should submit via CAMS the standard application, résumé and unofficial transcript. The clinic assistant, Sallie Kim, will contact you via email to schedule an interview. If you have questions regarding the application procedure, please contact Sallie Kim at (212) 998-6459 or via email at sallie.kim@nyu.edu.

Student Contacts
Former clinic students currently employed by EJI can be contacted at 334-269-1803:

Aaryn Urell (‘01) and Marc Shapiro (‘03).

The students in the 2008 clinic are:

Avram Frey Benjamin Yaster Charlene Jones Collette Parris Ian Marcus Amelkin

Jennifer Swayne Julia Einbond Meagan Sway Ryan Nanni Salezka Aguirre

* 14 credits includes 6 clinical credits and 8 academic seminar credits.