Spring 2023
Professor(s):
Grecia Cepeda Hendrickson (ADJUNCT)
Katya Dow (INACTIVE)
Judge Dena Fisher (ADJUNCT)
Credits: 2
Course Areas: Practice Skills - Clinics and Externships
Criminal Law
Time: ARRANGED Location:
Course Outline: Dual-status youth (also often referred to as Crossover Youth) are juveniles who are involved in both the Juvenile Justice system as well as the child welfare system. Students will be trained to represent and advocate for juveniles who are in contact with two different legal systems.
Students will be assigned to delinquency cases for dual-status youth and will be responsible for handling all legal aspects of the delinquency case under the supervision of the supervising attorney. Students will learn the law in a real-life context and develop professional and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies. Students will have the opportunity to investigate cases, interview witnesses and prepare cases for trial.
Students will also learn about the CPS system and factors in this system that impact the delinquency cases and the youth that are facing charges.
The clinic will consist of a classroom component and a practical component. The classroom component will focus on case preparation, negotiating the CPS system, advocacy skills and ethical considerations.
The practical component will allow students to handle different aspects of real cases including appearing in court, negotiating plea agreements and preparing cases for trial.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes: Quota= 5.
Students must obtain permission from Judge Fisher to enroll in this course. Her email address is dfisher2@central.uh.edu.
Prerequisites:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule:
This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: clinic
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA: No
Pass-Fail Student Election: Conditional Availability (not for required credits)
Course Materials
No book required for this course
TEXT/SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
Materials will be made available in class and/or via e-mail. Students will be provided a Juvenile Records Sealing handbook containing written training materials. Students will also be invited to a DropBox file for their juvenile records sealing cases entitled “Juvenile Record Sealing,” in which digital materials and templates can be found.
