District Attorney Offices are responsible for the prosecution of all crimes within a particular county. Students involved in this program will directly participate in many of the tasks and responsibilities of an Assistant District Attorney in various District Attorney offices throughout the upstate area.  Students may be assigned to a specific Assistant District Attorney or to a unit within the District Attorney's Office (for example: Drug Unit, Appeals, Grand Jury and Sexual Offense). Some students will assist Assistant District Attorneys handling local justice courts and will be involved in case evaluations, plea negotiations and dispositions before a judge. Other students will serve as interns to Assistant District Attorneys handling felony trial cases and will be expected to draft motions, research and draft memoranda of law, and to assist the trial attorney in all phases of litigation. The student may attend or conduct trials as scheduling permits. The clinical experience will be supplemented by a weekly classroom session dealing with substantive and procedural issues encountered in the criminal justice system.

Criminal Law - Public Defender Placements

Indigent defendants charged with other than capital crimes are represented by the Public Defender offices of each county and by assigned lawyers. Students may apply for placement with the NYS Defenders Association (a back-up center for Public Defender offices) or with one of the participating Public Defender offices listed below. Students may not be placed with private attorneys. Most students placed at these offices will be involved in direct client representation. Tasks may include research and writing, fact investigation, interviewing witnesses, jail visits, court observation, client counseling, and trial and motion work. Students placed at the participating offices listed below are required to participate in a weekly classroom session.

Sample Field Placements