Gain Invaluable Experience in One of the Nation's Most Comprehensive Litigation Skills Programs
Miami Law provides extensive training for both state and federal practice as an aspiring prosecutor, criminal defense lawyer, or advocate for criminal justice reform and policy. Miami is home to a nationally recognized Public Defender’s office, State Attorney’s Office, and government agencies specializing in all areas of criminal law. Miami Law students have direct opportunities with these agencies through our externship programs. You can become practice-ready through our numerous experiential learning opportunities, and Miami Law’s highly acclaimed Litigation Skills Program engages you in rigorous, hands-on training providing you with practical skills and courtroom experience.
65+ highly experienced trial attorneys and judges teach our students in our Litigation Skills Program
Miami Law’s Moot Court Board was ranked 17th in the nation for the 2021-2022 academic year
Miami Law’s Innocence Clinic is one of two Innocence Network member organizations in Florida and is the only university-based innocence organization in the state
Lawyers in South Florida practice in numerous courts, including the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, state and federal, trial and appellate, bankruptcy, immigration, family and more
“I find helping people who are in trouble to be incredibly rewarding. If you see what wrong has been done to people in the past, you make an even greater concerted effort to look under every stone in a case. This career requires you to be versatile and learn other disciplines outside of criminal law. For example, you must continually learn about new advances in science and technology, such as the process of digital storing and downloading of evidence. You have to continually work to stay current.”
Mike Klinkosum, J.D. '95 Certified Specialist in Criminal Law and Criminal Trial Advocacy, Tin Fulton Walker & Owen Raleigh, NC
Courses*
Comparative Criminal Justice
Comparative Criminal Justice After COVID-19
Controlled Substances
Craft Alcohol Beverages and Cannabis
Crimes at Sea
Criminal Justice Policy Reform
Criminal Litigation
Criminal Procedure
Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
Criminal Prosecution
Criminal Prosecution and Defense Lawyering
Evidence False Confessions and Interrogations
Federal Criminal Motion Practice
Federal Criminal Tax Practice
Florida Criminal Procedure
Florida Post-conviction Procedure
Gender Violence, Social Justice, and Law
Habeas Corpus
Human Trafficking
Images of Evil in Criminal Law
Impeachment Politics in Constitutional Perspective
International Criminal Law
Introduction to Death Penalty Litigation
Law and the Media Law of International Treaties
Legislation
Mental Health Law
Philosophies of Sentencing
Piracy, Terrorism, and Drug Smuggling in the Maritime Domain
Policing the Police
Post-Conviction Relief
Problems in Criminal Law and Procedure
Race and Economic Justice
Race and the Law
Race, Class, and Power: the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
Restorative Justice Processes
Scientific Evidence
Second Amendment Fundamentalism
Substantive Criminal Law
The Criminalization of Homelessness
The Death Penalty in Decline
The Language of Habeas Corpus
The Wire
Torture and the Law
Trial Litigation
White Collar Criminal Law
Wrongful Convictions
*Course list is not exhaustive and does not set out a path of study.
"I have been able to grasp complex issues because of the criminal law and criminal procedure courses that I have taken. The skills that I learned in the Litigation Skills program allowed me to be able to follow many fast paced pre-trial and trial proceedings. You're not sitting behind a desk doing transactional work; you're negotiating, you're in trial, everything is fast paced and I like that."
Alex Calle, J.D. '14 Attorney at Florida Department of Children and Families, Children's Legal Services Miami, FL
“I would not have the career as a public defender that I have today at the Legal Aid Society of NY without the support of HOPE. Miami Law provided me with the experiences I needed to do my job well."
Nick Bancroft, J.D. '15 Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society of NYC New York, NY
(Note: After working as a Summer Public Interest Fellow during his 1L summer at the Miami-Dade Public Defender, Bancroft decided that a career in public defense was what he aspired to after law school. He spent the remainder of his time at Miami Law making this happen through his participation in the Innocence Clinic and the Litigation Skills Program, and by serving as a HOPE Fellow with the Colorado Public Defender, where he was hired upon graduation.)
Externships and Internships**
11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Domestic Violence Division
Arc National Center for Criminal Justice and Disability (Washington, DC)
Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (Phoenix, AZ)
Bronx Criminal Division, Legal Aid Society (New York, NY)
Broward Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel
Broward Public Defender’s Office
Center for Children’s Law and Policy (DC)
District Attorney’s Office (TX, MA, NY, GA)
Florida Justice Institute
Guardian Ad Litem in Tanzania (Arusha, Tanzania)
Internal Revenue Service (DC)
Legal Services of Greater Miami
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office (CA)
Manatee County Attorney’s Office
Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office
Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (DC)
New York Legal Aid Society, Criminal Division
Office of Police Complaints (DC)
Office of the Attorney General (FL & VA)
Office of the Attorney General, Economic Crimes Division
Office of the Attorney General, Office of Statewide Prosecution
Office of the Federal Public Defender of the Southern District of Florida
Office of the Public Defender (CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IL, MD, OH, RI)
Office of the State Attorney (CT, FL, IL, KS, MA, NM)
United Nations (NY)
United Nations (Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic)
United Nations International Criminal Tribunal (Kigali, Rwanda)
U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York
U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida
U.S. Department of Defense, Military Commissions Defense Organization (Washington, DC)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DC & FL)
U.S. Department of Justice (DC, FL, NC, WI)
U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (DC, HI, VA)
U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (Germany & Italy)
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (DC & FL)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (DC)
**List is not exhaustive and is intended to provide examples of past externships and internships.
Faculty Experts
(Listen: In this recorded session for prospective law students, Professor Mary Anne Franks discusses the basics of criminal law.)
The faculty teaching in the criminal law area has published articles and books on a diverse array of topics. One professor has devoted twenty years to the Capital Jury Project and the Project's effort to decipher the inner workings of juries. Another professor is engaging in empirical research that digs down past myths and assumptions surrounding sex offenders as a way to understand the realities of sex offenders.
Some of our faculty members have been prosecutors, others have been criminal defense attorneys, and others have worked for both the government and the defense. Full-Time Faculty With Criminal Law Expertise:
Ricardo J. Bascuas is an expert in evidence, criminal procedure, international criminal law.
Donna K. Coker is an expert in criminal law, gender and inequality.
Mary Anne Franks is an expert in criminal law, criminal procedure, discrimination, free speech, cyberlaw, law and gender.
Scott E. Sundby is an expert in criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law.
Craig Trocino is Director of Miami Law's Innocence Clinic and an expert in wrongful convictions.
Conferences, Lectures, Centers
Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) - founded in August 2012 as the End Revenge Porn campaign, which called for the criminalization of nonconsensual pornography, the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent. CCRI has its home at Miami Law and the Initiative offers opportunities for law students and other university students eager to apply their professional skills to a cutting-edge issue with real-world implications.
Class Action and Complex Litigation Forum - judges, lawyers, and scholars from around the country discuss current cutting edge issues and topics associated with multi-district class actions and mass tort litigation.
“I find helping people who are in trouble to be incredibly rewarding. If you see what wrong has been done to people in the past, you make an even greater concerted effort to look under every stone in a case. This career requires you to be versatile and learn other disciplines outside of criminal law. For example, you must continually learn about new advances in science and technology, such as the process of digital storing and downloading of evidence. You have to continually work to stay current.”
"I have been able to grasp complex issues because of the criminal law and criminal procedure courses that I have taken. The skills that I learned in the Litigation Skills program allowed me to be able to follow many fast paced pre-trial and trial proceedings. You're not sitting behind a desk doing transactional work; you're negotiating, you're in trial, everything is fast paced and I like that."
“I would not have the career as a public defender that I have today at the Legal Aid Society of NY without the support of HOPE. Miami Law provided me with the experiences I needed to do my job well."