Certificate of Concentration in Criminal Law

Objective

To help prepare those students planning a career in criminal practice by ensuring that they take appropriate coursework and receive mentoring from members of the faculty or alumni with experience and interest in this field, and by rewarding students who demonstrate high degrees of ethics and competence in criminal law.

Learning Outcomes

The Criminal Law Certificate of Concentration Learning Outcomes can be found on PolicyTech. 

Requirements

In order to receive at graduation the Certificate of Concentration in Criminal Law, students must make a timely application for inclusion in the program, be accepted into the program, and do the following:

  • Complete at least 21 hours in the Approved Curriculum, including successful completion of the Mandatory Curriculum requirements, with an average GPA of at least 3.0 among all of those courses taken from the Approved Curriculum. Further, the student shall not have received a grade of less than 2.5 (or "S" in any course not graded on the 4.0 scale) in any of those courses taken in the Approved Curriculum.
  • Students must have achieved at least a 2.5 in the following courses: Evidence, Criminal Law, R & W I and II, and Professional Responsibility. A student who has not completed any of these courses must be enrolled in the course at the time of acceptance into the concentration and must achieve the required grade in these courses or the student will be excluded from the concentration.
  • Participate in the Required Mentoring.
  • Fulfill the Criminal Law pro bono requirement; and
  • Write a paper on a topic within criminal law approved by their faculty-mentor and that would fulfill the upper-level writing requirement.

Required Mentoring

Upon being selected into the Criminal Law Concentration, students will be assigned two mentors.  They will be assigned a mentor who is a member of the Stetson Faculty Criminal Concentration Committee (Professors Podgor, Scully, Rozelle, or Flowers).  The student will also be assigned a member of the bar who practices criminal law.  The faculty mentor will assist in assigning an attorney that fits the student’s future career goals.  Students will be expected to meet with their faculty-mentor once a semester for the purpose of discussing advancement toward completion of the Concentration requirements.  They will meet with their attorney-mentor to discuss the realities of a practice in criminal law.

Criminal Law, Pro Bono

To receive the Certificate of Concentration in Criminal Law, students must perform at least 30 hours of graduation required pro bono work in service within Criminal Law (this can include legal and community service). A student cannot use the required clinic for pro bono hours unless the student continues to work at the agency after they have completed the clinic hours. This requirement is within the Stetson University College of Law's graduation requirement for pro bono work.

Mandatory Curriculum

LAW 3265CRIM PROCEDURE - ADJUDICATION3 credits
LAW 3270CRIM PROCEDURE-INVESTIGATION3 credits
LAW 3920TRIAL ADVOCACY3 credits
LAW 3920T
TRIAL ADVOCACY*
Select one from the following:
LAW 3140CAPPELLATE PRAC & ADV: CRIMINAL3 credits
LAW 3502FLORIDA CRIMINAL PROCEDURE3 credits
LAW 3876SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY&THE LW3 credits
LAW 3946WHITE COLLAR ADVOCACY2 to 3 credits
LAW 3947WHITE COLLAR CRIME2 to 3 credits
LAW 4550PROSECUTION CLINIC4 credits
Select one from the following:
LAW 4560PUBLIC DEFENDER CLINIC4 credits
LAW 4565TAMPA PROSECUTION CLINIC4 credits
LAW 4570VETERANS ADVOCACY CLINIC4 credits
** A student can petition the committee to substitute a criminal law related externship that is not on the list for a clinic. The petition must be approved by 2 committee members.

Elective Curriculum

LAW 3075ADVANCED CRIMINAL TRIAL ADVOCACY2 to 3 credits
LAW 3140CAPPELLATE PRAC & ADV: CRIMINAL3 credits
LAW 3276CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY SEM2 to 3 credits
LAW 3405EVIDENTIARY FOUNDAT&OBJECTIONS3 credits
LAW 3454FEDERAL JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIP1 to 4 credits
LAW 3515FLORIDA JUDICIAL EXTERNSHP1 to 6 credits
LAW 3502FLORIDA CRIMINAL PROCEDURE3 credits
LAW 3544HUMAN TRAFFICKING3 credits
LAW 3548IN-HOUSE COUNSEL EXTERNSHIP1 to 5 credits
LAW 3575INT'L CRIMINAL LAW2 to 3 credits
LAW 3592INTERVIEWING AND COUNSELING2 credits
LAW 3610JUVENILE LAW2 to 3 credits
LAW 3788RACE AND THE LAW SEMINAR2 to 3 credits
LAW 3876SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY&THE LW3 credits
LAW 3892STRATEGIC AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN HIGH PROFILE CRIMINAL CASES1 credit
LAW 3946WHITE COLLAR ADVOCACY2 to 3 credits
LAW 3947WHITE COLLAR CRIME2 to 3 credits
The Criminal Law Concentration committee reserves the right to petition the Associate Dean to include other courses that are within the Criminal Law Area as electives, including but not limited to weekend courses.