Mar 28, 2024  
2013-2014 Law Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Law Catalog [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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LAW 3939 - Prosecutor’s Role: Prosecuting a Criminal Case


This course explores, within a simulated format, the special constitutional and ethical obligations a criminal prosecutor faces. It presents a unique opportunity for students to concentrate on analyzing and learning the prosecutorial role and grapple with the complex legal and ethical issues intertwined in a typical criminal prosecution. The simulation follows a New York state criminal prosecution from complaint room intake through trial, and helps students develop lawyering skills in the following areas: (1) fact analysis and case theory development; (2) witness (expert and lay) interviewing and counseling; (3) written advocacy; (4) oral advocacy; and (5) ethics of the prosecutorial decision-making process. Students are assigned specific cases at the arrest stage and develop their cases solely from the information they cultivate through lay and law enforcement witnesses. Students are required to present their cases to a grand jury, research the legal issues unique to their cases, engage in motion practice, prepare for and ultimately conduct pretrial suppression hearings and trials. The course is team-taught by a Hofstra instructor and assistant district attorneys from the New York metropolitan area. Grading is based on the student’s overall performance on oral and written work throughout the semester. May fulfill Upper Level Writing Requirement II.

Prerequisites & Notes
Criminal Procedure and Evidence. Instructor’s permission is required.

Credits: 3





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