Criminal Appeals Clinic

The Criminal Appeals Legal Clinic provides you with the opportunity to represent clients convicted of felony or misdemeanor offenses in front of the Illinois Appellate Court. Working under the supervision of attorneys from the Office of the State Appellate Defender, you will review the record from trial; confer with the client; research the law to provide support for their theories; and draft and file a brief at the end of the semester. The classroom component of the clinic includes lectures on appellate procedure and roundtable discussions on students' progress throughout the semester.

While the clinic specializes in appellate law, it also provides insight into trial practice. You will review and analyze the procedures, motions and evidentiary rulings that took place in the trial court. The clinic's focus on research and writing is ideal for students seeking clerkships or wanting to develop persuasive writing skills. Beyond the invaluable experience gained by direct representation, students leave with a unique writing sample to submit to potential employers: an actual brief filed in a court of appeals.

The Criminal Appeals Clinic is taught in a rotation by attorneys from the Office of the State Appellate Defender.

The Criminal Appeals Clinic also offers an additional semester of course work for students who have already completed one semester of the clinic. This second-semester course will allow students to continue representing their appellate clients through the reply brief process and expand their knowledge base by working on additional criminal appeals.