Crime Victims Litigation Clinic

Crime Victims Litigation Clinic - Professor Meg Garvin

• Course Number: LAW-756
• Course Type: Highly Specialized & Experiential
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: 8
• Description:  Under the supervision of Clinical Professor Meg Garvin who is also the Executive Director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), students learn both practical and theoretical approaches to the assertion and enforcement of victims’ rights within the criminal justice system. In a weekly 2 and 1/2 hour class, students learn basic victims’ rights jurisprudence, trial and appellate level practice research and writing skills, and general practice skills.  Students also benefit from guest lectures by national crime victims’ rights experts and experienced crime victim attorneys and allied professionals (e.g., psychologists, victim advocates).

In addition to in-class hours during the Fall or Spring semester, students are required to do legal work a minimum of 8.5 - 10 hours per week, 6.5 of which must be in-person in the Clinic’s on campus workroom.

Through clinic participation, clinic students work to provide practicing attorneys, courts, victim advocates and those working on public policy. These projects require the students to apply legal research, writing and analysis to live legal issues. Projects include researching and writing legal memoranda, drafting pleadings, writing case summaries on victims’ rights-related issues, and drafting model legislation. Students also have the opportunity to assist NCVLI in writing amicus curiae briefs for filing in state and federal trial and appellate courts nationwide.

Students who are certified may have the chance to represent victims on select issues such as denials of crime victim compensation, responding to subpoenas for victim information issued in criminal cases, and more. NOTE: this direct representation of victims is rare.

The Clinic is open to all students who have successfully completed their first year of law school.

Applications are not needed.

The traditional payment of a $40 Clinic fee is currently waived.

• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Credit/no credit based on written work competed in the course
• Capstone: no
• WIE: Professor permission required