Teaching law students how to be ethics-first, justice-focused, and community-centered prosecutors committed to safeguarding the rights of defendants, the interests of crime victims, and the safety of the public at large will continue to improve the effective and ethical handling of criminal cases. In the wake of the Ferguson Uprising and other moments of resistance, many prosecutorial offices and law schools listened and progressed to address over-policing and the criminalization of poverty, while working to invest in the communities they serve.
The backlash against prosecutors at either end of the ideological spectrum may lead law schools to de-prioritize creating a prosecutorial clinic or program dedicated to taking up such meaningful reform. In fact, most law schools leave teaching prosecutorial practice to the prosecutor’s office itself, through internships and externships. Without law schools providing the opportunity for our next generation of criminal justice practitioners to learn the best practices in handling real-life cases, and empowering them to be agents of positive change both within their clinical experience and beyond, there is a missed opportunity to shape the future of the criminal justice system with an eye towards change from within prosecutorial offices.
This session will highlight the various ways in which prosecution clinics and programs work to promote positive approaches to the pursuit of social justice through the criminal-adjudicative system. We will discuss how law schools can promote resilience through justice-focused, forward-thinking prosecutorial practice and through resistance to outmoded ways of teaching and practicing in the prosecutorial field.
This session will be interactive, providing an opportunity to talk about not only the educational value of faculty-led prosecutorial clinics and programs, but also the challenges posed and various options to address them.