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For more information about this clinic, please visit the Clinic Website and Clinic Q&A.

Required Clinic Component: Government Lawyer: U.S. Attorney Clinic (4-5 clinical credits; either fall or spring semester). Students who are accepted into this clinic will be enrolled in the clinic and clinical seminar by the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs.

Additional Co-/Pre-Requisites: None.

By Permission: No.

Add/Drop Deadline: May 17, 2024 for Fall 2024 students; September 6, 2024 for Spring 2025 students.

LLM Students: International students on F-1 student visas are required to have Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization; LL.M. students are not eligible for CPT.

Exam Type: No Exam. A paper will be required in lieu of an examination.

The course will examine the role and responsibilities of the prosecutor, with a particular focus on federal prosecutors.  We will consider legal, ethical, policy, and strategic challenges facing prosecutors. The course will consider questions concerning the politics of prosecution, the role of the prosecutor in the adversarial system, and the autonomy and discretion of the prosecutor.  We will look at policy issues that arise around prosecution, as well as those issues that individual prosecutors face in their work.  Some specific topics that will be addressed will include prosecutorial ethics; disclosure and discovery issues; pretrial publicity; investigations (including use of the grand jury); sentencing; federalization of crime; and dealing with informants, cooperators, and victims.  We will consider these issues in the context of different areas of criminal prosecution, including white-collar crime, organized crime, violent crime, and terrorism.