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 Students in Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic with Professor Perry Moriearty (far right).
in the field of criminal justice.
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Deeply engaged
Robina Public Interest Scholars Program
Twin Cities criminal justice community
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that offers specialized career counseling, summer funding, postgraduate fellowships, and loan repayment assistance.
Centers and institutes
4 Recent graduates who took part in 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.
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: Michael Kinane, 2L, spent his 1L summer externing for Judge William Orrick in the Northern District of California and interned for the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California in the Gang Strike Force. He also worked for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in the Adult Prosecution Division.
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graduates were awarded prestigious post-
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.
graduate fellowships with Equal Justice Works from 2016–21.
Student-Edited Journals include: Law & Inequality: A Journal of Theory and Practice Minnesota Journal of International Law
9 A record of success in graduates receiving prestigious postgraduate fellowships and state and federal clerkships.
Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology Minnesota Law Review
37%
of graduates from the class of 2020 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.
30 2020 graduates hired for JUDICIAL CLERKSHIPS
The Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) worked with Minnesota Law students to help overturn the conviction of a man who steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout five years of incarceration.
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CRIMINAL LAW & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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 Clemency Project Clinic Criminal Defense Clinic Criminal Prosecution Clinic Detainee Rights Clinic Federal Defense Clinic
Professor Perry Moriearty, co-director of the Child Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Clinic, along with Kaitlyn Falk, 3L, and Matthew DiTullio ’20, successfully represented client Myon Burrell in a commutation case in late 2020. Burrell’s sentence was commuted after serving 18 years in prison for a crime he was convicted of when he was 16. Minnesota Law held a webinar with Mr. Burrell and his legal team in the spring to discuss the case. View it here: z.umn.edu/myonburrell
Learn by Doing 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
In addition to the students who worked in our nationally recognized clinics last summer,
51%
of current 2Ls and
49%
of current 3Ls worked at government agencies or nonprofit organizations, in the U.S. and internationally.
and federal defense to misdemeanor prosecution and fighting wrongful convictions, Minnesota Law students work side-by-side with clinical faculty and attorneys, as well as agencies such as the United States Attorney’s Office, the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office, and the City Attorneys’ Offices of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Since 2014 the Clemency Project has pursued more than
65
cases for clemency at the state and federal levels.
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The Clemency Project Clinic is Minnesota Law’s newest clinic. Under the supervision of Professor JaneAnne Murray (center) clinic students take cases with incarcerated clients whose sentences appear out of proportion with the crime they were convicted of.
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 leads the Clemency Project, which is now a clinic, since 2014. Murray and her students have pursued more than 65 cases for clemency at the state and federal levels.
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 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.
• Professor Francis Shen, who is the Executive Director of Education and Outreach at the McArthur Foundation Research Network on Law and Neuroscience, and was recently awarded the American Law Institute’s Early Career Scholars Medal for his work in law and neuroscience. • Professor Mitchell E. Zamoff, who is the director of the law school’s litigation program, chair of the civil litigation concentration and co-director of the Law in Practice Program. He teaches alternative dispute resolution, civil procedure, evidence, evidence drafting, and law in practice.
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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 You’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
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,
“The most rewarding part
and professionals who are experts in career development and the
about working on Juvenile Without Parole (JLWOP)
legal field.
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 Cayard ’19 Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Laura Thomas
2021 J.D. graduates with Dean Garry W. Jenkins at the 2021 University of Minnesota Law School commencement.
WHERE OUR GRADS GO CLASSES OF 2018, 2019, AND 2020
91%
EMPLOYMENT RATE (3 Year Average: FT/ LT JD Required/ JD Advantage/ Graduate School)
96%
BAR PASSAGE (MN July 2021)
Minnesota Law alumni are working in all
50
STATES
73
COUNTRIES
TOP MARKETS FOR 2020 GRADS: Illinois Minnesota New York Texas 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. © 2021 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
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