CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Choose one of the best criminal law programs in the country.
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CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Top 10 Reasons to Study Criminal Law & Criminal Justice at Minnesota 1 One of the country’s most robust criminal law programs, with
faculty who are nationally recognized experts in the field of criminal justice. Students in Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic with Professor Perry Moriearty (far right).
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Deeply engaged
Robina Public Interest Scholars Program
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that offers specialized career counseling, summer funding, postgraduate fellowships, and loan repayment assistance.
Centers and institutes
4 Students from the James H. Binger
Center for New Americans Detainee Rights Clinic.
doing cutting-edge work in the field of criminal justice, including the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, the Human Rights Center, and the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity.
Twin Cities criminal justice community with nonprofit and local and federal government agencies that offer schoolyear and summer opportunities.
5 Opportunities to engage in criminal justice research and policy work through an independent study, criminal justicefocused clinics, and working with community partners.
On the cover: Jake Hilt, 3L, served as a former Army Ranger before law school. He currently volunteers with the Hennepin County Veterans Court and serves as treasurer of the Law School Armed Forces Association.
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6 Opportunities to engage in original research with the
Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice.
7 Dedicated support from the Career Center’s Public Interest program staff and career counselors in planning your career path.
8 Substantive volunteer opportunities locally and nationally through Minnesota Justice Foundation and Aslyum Law Project.
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graduates were awarded prestigious post-
graduate fellowships with Equal Justice Works from 2016–20.
Minnesota Law and the Innocence Project of Minnesota (IPMN)
9 A record of success in graduates receiving prestigious postgraduate fellowships and state and federal clerkships.
expanded their partnership in April 2019 when IPMN moved offices to the Law School, facilitating additional clinical, pro bono, and research opportunities for law students.
43%
of graduates from the class of 2019 started directly in public interest careers or judicial clerkships, serving in nonprofit, government, and international organizations.
10 Numerous clinics committed to criminal justice work, including the Child Advocacy & Juvenile Justice, Federal Defense, Criminal Defense, Civil Rights Enforcement, Criminal Prosecution, and the Minnesota Innocence Project clinics.
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individuals received clemency due to the work of Professor JaneAnne Murray and law students who participated in the Clemency Project.
The Innocence Project of Minnesota (IPMN), working with Minnesota Law students, recently helped overturn the conviction of a man who steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout five years of incarceration.
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CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
44 2019 Graduates Hired For JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS
Learn by Doing Students can get hands-on experience
serving clients through opportunities in clinics that focus on a variety of aspects of criminal law: Child Advocacy & Juvenile Justice Clinic Criminal Defense Clinic Criminal Prosecution Clinic
There is no substitute for experience—the kind you get when you work with real clients on real-world problems. In our criminal justice-focused clinics, you serve low-income clients, immigrants, and refugees while building vital professional and experiential skills. From civil rights enforcement, child advocacy, and criminal and federal defense to misdemeanor prosecution and fighting wrongful convictions, Minnesota Law students work side-by-side
Detainee Rights Clinic
with clinical faculty and attorneys, as well as agencies such as the
Federal Defense Clinic
United States Attorney’s Office, the Hennepin County Public
Innocence Project Clinic
Defender’s Office, and the City Attorneys’ Offices of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
In addition to the students who worked in our nationally recognized clinics last summer,
46%
of current 2Ls and
37%
of current 3Ls worked at government agencies or nonprofit organizations, in the U.S. and internationally in Summer 2020.
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< The Law School’s Petitioner team, comprised of 3Ls Kris Wathne, Sarah Allen, and Connor Shaull, advanced to the National Moot Court finals competition in New York City.
Study with World-Class Faculty
Professor Francis X. Shen works across the University on issues at the intersection of law and the brain sciences.
Professor JaneAnne Murray specializes in criminal law and government investigations. She led the Clemency Project at the Law School and supervised 15 students who drafted 35 petitions for eligible inmates. Fourteen of these inmates received grants of clemency.
Dynamic and engaged, the criminal law faculty at Minnesota Law are preeminent scholars and committed teachers. Our faculty includes: • Professor Maria Ponomarenko, who teaches and writes in the areas administrative law, constitutional law, and criminal procedure, focuses in particular on government agencies— such as policing agencies or other local regulatory agencies— that operate in domains that fall beyond the reach of traditional administrative law and scholarship. She is also an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Principles of the Law: Policing project. • Professor Kevin Reitz, whose work focuses on sentencing law and correctional policies, recently completed a 15-year update to America’s sentencing code for the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code: Sentencing recently. He was faculty codirector of the Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice and now sits on the Institute’s Board of Directors. • Professor Francis Shen, who the Executive Director of Education and Outreach at the McArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, and recently joined the BRAIN Initiative Working Group 2.0 at the National Institutes of Health. • Professor Michael Tonry, who is a Scientific Member of Germany’s Max Planck Society, is also one the nation’s leading experts on criminal law and has authored numerous books and articles on crime and punishment practices. He is also the editor of Crime & Justice (University of Chicago Press).
Professor Perry Moriearty is one of the country’s leaders in successfully opposing mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, a position with which the U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed in two separate rulings. She also serves as chair of the Criminal Justice Concentration.
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CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
10+
PROFESSIONAL AFFINITY GROUPS in the Twin Cities
STUDENT-LED OPPORTUNITIES A rich variety of student activities, organizations, and leadership opportunities enhance the classroom experience. Selected student-led organizations, include:
The Twin Cities is often ranked as one of the best places to live in the country.
Live in a Community Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Love The vibrant Twin Cities legal community offers abundant opportu-
Asylum Law Project
nities for part-time work during the school year or full-time work
Criminal Justice League
during the summer in the field of criminal justice. Our graduates
The Law Council Litigation and Trial Advocacy Group
work as local, state, and federal prosecutors; criminal defense attorneys; trial and appellate judges; and legislators or their staff.
Minnesota Justice FoundationStudent Chapter National Lawyers Guild
With easy access to the state capitol, Minnesota Law offers students the opportunity to take the classroom to the statehouse in courses such as Legislative Process.
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Downtown Minneapolis, as seen from campus.
Prepare for Success We offer a dedicated employer relations team and lifetime alumni career counseling and professional development resources. Our unique Professional Essentials Workshops introduce law students to core concepts surrounding the development of interpersonal skills critical for career success. Students learn from staff, faculty, alumni, and professionals who are experts in career development and the legal field.
The most rewarding part about working on Juvenile Without Parole (JLWOP) cases is meeting with clients and showing them that they have a support system striving to help them have a future beyond their sentence. I hope having a team of people fighting for them gives our clients some hope for the future. —Maggie Forsell ’19 Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Judge Theodora Gaïtas
2019 J.D. and LL.M. graduates with Dean Garry W. Jenkins at the 2019 University of Minnesota Law School commencement.
WHERE OUR GRADS GO CLASSES OF 2017, 2018, AND 2019
94%
EMPLOYMENT RATE (2019 Grads; FT/ LT JD Required/ JD Advantage/ Grad)
94%
BAR PASSAGE (MN July 2019)
TOP MARKETS FOR 2019 GRADS: Minnesota Law Alumni are working in all
50
STATES
73
COUNTRIES
Illinois Minnesota New York Washington, D.C. Wisconsin
> For more information, visit LAW.UMN.EDU
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JDADMISSIONS@UMN.EDU
University of Minnesota Law School Admissions N130 Mondale Hall 229 19th Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55455
The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Š 2020 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
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