Trial Practice
This is the basic trial skills course covering Opening Statement, Direct Examination, Cross Examination, Impeachment, Exhibits, Expert Witnesses and Closing Argument. In sections of 12 students per section, students prepare and perform the various skills using simulated problems and case files. After each performance, students receive constructive comments from faculty members who are also experienced trial lawyers. Students also get videotapes of their performances. The course ends with a full jury trial of a civil or criminal case with teams of two students on each side. At the end of the trial, the jury deliberates and students are able to watch the jury as it deliberates.
In the Fall, the class lasts the full semester. Usually only one section is offered in the Fall.
In the Spring, the class begins with a three-day Intensive Session on the weekend before the Martin Luther King holiday in January and finishes before Spring Break. Students planning to take the course in the Spring should check the academic calendar for the date of the Intensive Session. No student may take the course in the Spring unless he or she can attend the entire Intensive Session. Five sections are offered in the Spring.
Intensive Training Session will take place from Thursday, January 21 to Sunday, January 24, 2010.
Please note that course organization and content may vary substantially from semester to semester and descriptions are not necessarily professor specific. Please contact the instructor directly if you have particular course-related questions.
Prerequisite Information
Sections/Instructors
J. Donald Cowan, Jr.
Trial Practice 420.05
Spring 2010
Charles L. Becton
Trial Practice 420.04
Spring 2010
Donald H. Beskind
Trial Practice 420.03
Spring 2010
William S. Mills
Trial Practice 420.02
Spring 2010
James C. Fuller
Trial Practice 420.01
Spring 2010
Thomas K. Maher
Trial Practice 420.01
Fall 2009
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