Criminal Law

Defend clients and represent the state while learning the historical foundation of the law

Students considering a focus on criminal law while at Moritz have vast opportunities to fine-tune their skills. They'll attend classes taught by professors who have written textbooks used by law students across the country. Students can join one of the leading journals in criminal law and participate in prosecution or defense clinics. They can participate in any or all of the several student organizations associated with criminal law. And, finally, the College will match students with mentors who are working in a legal role.

Students can choose from an upper-level criminal law course offering that ranks among the most comprehensive in the United States. And they'll learn from some of the leading experts in criminal justice across the country. Moritz professors have argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, clerked for Supreme Court justices, and have worked at some of the most prestigious firms and prosecutors' offices across the country.

Professor Joshua Dressler is one of the country's most respected authorities on criminal law and criminal procedure. His casebook on criminal law is now used by professors in more than 100 American law schools. Professor Douglas A. Berman is one of the country's leading experts in sentencing law. Repeatedly called upon to testify before the U.S. Congress, Berman has lately become recognized for his preeminent sentencing blog, Sentencing Law and Policy.

Students may be invited to join the Ohio State Journal on Criminal Law, a leading journal that is published semiannually. The journal, through its symposium, commentary, and book and cultural review sections, provides useful and serious, but also interesting and provocative, discourse on critical issues in the field of criminal justice.

The journal also recently launched a first-of-its-kind project for a law review in this country. The student initiated, student managed project, dubbed "OSJCL Amici: Views from the Field," solicits practitioners (state and federal prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and clerks) to craft short commentaries on pending or recently decided U.S. Supreme Court cases, recent criminal-law-related news events, or various other issues related to criminal law. Those commentaries are posted on the journal's web site and open to comments by visitors.

In Moritz's clinical programs, students have the opportunity to represent clients in area courts. The Criminal Defense Practicum assigns students to represent adult defendants in misdemeanor cases pending in Franklin County Municipal Court. Outside the classroom, students prepare each case and present it in court or obtain a satisfactory out-of-court resolution. Students regularly appear in local courts, learn how to prepare witnesses, negotiate plea bargains, and try criminal cases.

The Prosecution Practicum provides students with the exciting opportunity to represent the state of Ohio in the prosecution of criminal law cases. Under the supervision of licensed clinical faculty, students take responsibility for prosecuting a wide range of criminal cases, from theft and drunk driving to drug possession and domestic violence. Students handle their own cases, interviewing victims and other witnesses, negotiating plea bargains with defense attorneys, and conducting hearings and jury trials.