Certificate in Criminal Law & Justice

The certificate in Criminal Law & Justice recognizes successful curriculum concentration in the field of criminal law and procedure. To obtain the certificate, students must satisfy each of the requirements set forth below. No exceptions will be made. The certificate is awarded to eligible students at graduation.

This page describes the requirements to obtain a certificate in Criminal Law & Justice and provides links to the documents that must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office by February 1st for a May graduation date or October 31st for a January graduation date.

Please also visit the Criminal Law program page for general information about Criminal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Documents:

Application

Paper Requirement 

A. Course Requirements

To obtain the certificate, a student must complete each of the following course requirements:

Level 1
All of the following:

• 017 Criminal Procedure I
• 115 Criminal Procedure II
• 148 Criminal Law I
• 122 Evidence

Level 2
One of the following:

• 459 Crimes Against Animals
• 513 Criminal Justice: Sentencing
• 248 Criminal Law II: White Collar Crime
• 904 Criminal Law in Indian Country
• 462 Crimmigration, Crisis, and Conflict
• 487 Cyber Crime
• 240 Human Trafficking
• 702 Individual Research (on a criminal law, procedure, or justice topic)
• 461 International Criminal Law
• 373 Juvenile Justice
• 521 Oregon Criminal Law: Arrest to Sentence
• 590 Victims in Criminal Procedure
• 467 Wrongful Convictions

Students should feel free to inquire whether a course that is not on this list may meet the Level 2 requirement. Please note that Current Issues in Criminal Law does not satisfy the Level 2 requirement.

Level 3
One of the following:

• 756 Crime Victim Litigation Clinic
• 758/759 Criminal Justice Reform Clinic
• Externship (in a placement related to criminal law and justice)
• Moot Court (Depending on the year, eligible moot courts may include: ABA: Negotiation; ABA: Tax Law; Client Counseling; Jessup International Law; Mock Trial; NALSA; Pace National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Students who participate in other moot courts for credit may petition to have that moot court count towards the level 3 requirement.)
• 796/797 Public Defense Practicum
• 430 Trial Advocacy

A student may be able to receive credit for one course of up to three (3) credits, taken at another law school. A student seeking such credit must contact the Associate Dean of Faculty or the faculty member who chairs the Criminal Law Committee, both of whom have discretion to grant or deny the request. If the Director allows the course to count toward the certificate, only the credit earned for that course will be applied to the certificate. The grade earned for the course will not be counted in determining the student’s GPA for the certificate.

B. Paper Requirement

The paper must focus directly on criminal law, criminal procedure, or criminal justice.

The paper must satisfy the criteria for either the “WIE” or the “Capstone” writing requirement. If these criteria are met, it is immaterial whether the student actually uses the paper to fulfill the “WIE” or “Capstone” writing requirement.

Students should plan ahead in determining how to meet the writing requirement. There will be a strong presumption against allowing co-authored papers to qualify for the Certificate.

The student has the burden of ensuring that the paper topic, scope, and research level meet the Certificate requirements. If there is any doubt, the student should initiate a consultation among the student, the supervising faculty member, and the Certificate Director early in the paper process.

C. Grade Point Requirement

The student must maintain a grade point average of 3.00 or better in courses taken and selected as qualifying for the Certificate. To obtain the Certificate “with Distinction,” a student must maintain an overall grade point average of 3.67 or better in courses that are taken and submitted to satisfy the requirements of the Certificate.

No exceptions will be made to this requirement.

 

*Requirements updated 8/5/23