Judicial Externships

Each semester, the college places approximately 30 students as judicial externs to work in judges' chambers. Judges participating in the program include United States Circuit, District, Bankruptcy, and Magistrate Judges; Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court; and Franklin County Common Pleas, Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court Judges.

Judicial externships provide excellent educational opportunities, including observation of the workings of courts from the inside, interaction with distinguished judges, and engagement in supervised research and writing.

Judicial externs attend monthly classes at the college, in which they are exposed to a range of topics, including the experiences of their classmates in the program and ethical issues specific to the judiciary.

The program runs the full 14 weeks of the Autumn and Spring Semesters and 8 weeks of the Summer Semester. Students receive 3 credits in Autumn and Spring and 2 credits in Summer. The class is graded on a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" basis.

The course requirements include eight hours of work each week (plus possible additional work as required by the judge), attendance at the monthly classes, weekly journal entries, a short paper about what the student learned during the externship, a sample of work done for the court, and an evaluation of the student's work by the judge or supervisor.

Selection Process

Selection is on a competitive but broad basis. Demonstrated writing ability and commitment and capacity to represent the college well are important criteria. Law school grades will be neither irrelevant nor controlling. Under faculty policy, third-year students are given preference in the selection process. Also, a few of the judges are only willing to take third-year students.

Application Requirements and Deadlines

Students interested in Summer or Autumn 2013 externships must submit an application, a resume and 5-page writing sample to Dean Monte Smith in Room 104 by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 25, 2013. The deadline for Spring Semester 2014 externships will be announced during the Autumn Semester.

Students selected will be notified shortly after the close of the application period. Students with questions about the Judicial Externship Program may see Dean Monte Smith in Room 104 or email him at smith.747@osu.edu. More information about the program can be found here.

Federal Bar Association Extern Scholarship Program

The Federal Bar Association Columbus Chapter Extern Scholarship Program seeks to provide financial support to students of the Moritz College of Law and Capital University Law School and to provide them with the unique opportunity to serve as a judicial extern for the Judges and Magistrate Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Columbus). The Program has two separate elements. FBA Extern Scholars will (1) receive a $5,000 scholarship; and (2) be provided an opportunity to extern for law school credit with the Court for 14 weeks during either the Autumn or Spring Semesters. The FBA Extern Scholars will serve in one or more of the chambers chosen by the court. The goal of the scholarships is to enhance diversity among the externs at the U.S. District Court.

Applications are available here and are due to Dean Monte Smith by Monday, March 25, 2012 at 5 p.m. Students interested in the FBA Extern Scholarship must complete both the Student Application for Externship Programs and the FBA Extern Scholarship Program Application. Scholarship recipients must enroll in the Judicial Externship class.