BU Law Criminal Clinic’s Prosecutor Program gives students real-world cases with real-world consequences
The Clinic’s Prosecutor Program gives students real-world cases with real-world consequences.
Nearly twenty-five years ago, Brian Wilson (’96) began his studies at BU Law. He was a determined student, but he was also shy and reserved: traits that don’t often go hand-in-hand with a career in litigation. Now nearly two decades into a successful career as a prosecutor, Wilson credits his time at BU Law with giving him the academic, professional, and personal tools to succeed. One experience in particular had a tremendous impact on his future: his participation in the Criminal Clinic’s Prosecutor Program.
“When you go into court as a clinic student, you’re right in the trenches,” says Wilson. “You have no choice but to stand in front of a judge and do your job with confidence, because you’re working on a real-world case, with real-world consequences for defendants, victims, and other members of society—you’re dealing with people’s lives. There’s no place for shyness, and the clinic gave me what I needed to overcome that, not just in law school, but every time I tried a case. My roots are really in the clinic.”
It should come as no surprise then, that Wilson is passionate about his new role as an instructor and supervisor of the Criminal Clinic’s Prosecutor Program. “To come back to my roots, and work with some of the same faculty members who helped put me on this path, and to be able to teach my students what was taught to me, is really a great privilege.”
Earlier this year, Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey appointed Wilson as a Special Assistant District Attorney (ADA). In this role, he reviews criminal complaints, selects cases, and supervises their prosecution by third-year students—from pretrial conference through trial in the Quincy District Court.
Student Practitioners for Prosecution and Defense
Wilson’s students are the functional equivalent of ADAs. During their first semester in the clinic, students are referred to as “juniors,” and second-semester students are “seniors.” All students participate in coursework, and juniors are assigned to assist seniors in both the prosecutor and defender tracks. They assist with all aspects of their cases, short of arguing them court. Seniors choose either the prosecutor or defender track, prepare their assigned cases, and argue them in court as Rule 3:03 student practitioners.
Zachary Evans (’16), who will begin his second semester in the clinic this fall, plans to become a defense attorney. “It can be challenging to participate in prosecution as a student who is passionate about defense,” he says of his first-semester experience. “Many first-year clinical students who are interested in defense have trouble reconciling their moral qualms with the criminal justice system and their participation in prosecution. Eventually, I found that working for the prosecution helped me understand the motivations and thought processes of prosecutors in a way I would not have otherwise.”
Wilson stresses the importance of the first semester in the clinic, and the experience students get on both the prosecution and defense tracks. “To become a great defense attorney, you need to think like a prosecutor, and vice versa. The clinic gives you that opportunity to understand your opposing counsel,” he says. “When I was in the clinic, the professors on the defense side were equally influential throughout my career.”
Preparing for Trial
Each student handles an average of eight to ten cases over a semester. When he decides which cases the clinic will take, Wilson looks for cases that are likely to go to trial, as well as those that either have a motion to suppress filed or are likely to have one filed, since arguing against these motions gives students the opportunity, as in a trial, to call witnesses and present evidence. “I’m looking for cases that are going to give students the most valuable experience, with diverse types of offenses to prosecute,” he says. “There are some cases that are only going to involve police officers; others that are going to involve civilians, as witnesses or victims; some that are going to involve experts, such as drug cases. I’m trying to get a very broad experience for the students.”
Once a case has been assigned, the students handle everything, including meeting with witnesses, visiting and investigating crime scenes, developing a trial or motion strategy, conducting plea bargaining, making appropriate sentencing recommendations, and conducting the suppression hearings or trials. “They really do everything that I would do if I were prosecuting the case,” says Wilson. “I can’t tell you how valuable this experience is for the students.”
Once the written preparation is done, the next step is practicing for court appearances. “Before anything that involves a student putting physical items into evidence, examining witnesses, or appearing before the court in any capacity, we always hold a mock hearing here at the School,” says Wilson. “The first time the student tries the case, or does the motion to suppress hearing, that student will have already gone through the same exercise here.”
The mock hearings or trials are as realistic as possible—Wilson acts as the judge, and other students act as defense counsel, jurors, and witnesses. As judge, Wilson doesn’t take it easy on the students. “I want them to be as prepared as possible,” he says, “which means they need to be ready for the judge to treat them not as students, but as prosecutors. I may very well make it more challenging in the exercise than anything they would encounter in the real trial.”
After the mock trial, the students go through a self-evaluation, and a critique from Wilson and the other students. This feedback might lead to repeating part or all of the exercise—“we do whatever is needed to be sure that they are thoroughly prepared,” says Wilson.
Real-World Engagement
Recently, Evans worked with fellow clinic student Thomas Fryska (’15) on writing an opposition memo to the defense’s motion to suppress. “Tom and I wrote internal memos about questions of law, and then collaborated on a memo to be filed with the court,” he says. “We also conducted a moot argument in which Tom practiced as the prosecutor, I played the defense, and Professor Wilson acted as the judge. In this way the clinic provides first semester students the opportunity to practice oral advocacy skills even though they cannot yet speak in court.”
“The hands-on instruction in the clinics allows students to engage with law in the real world, which is quite different from how it seems in class,” says Evans. “I have also found that my clinical experiences affect my academic areas of interest in the law. It is very interesting to see the nexus between theories in legal scholarship and their application to local criminal courts.”
“Whether you become a prosecutor or not, the clinic gives you that real-world experience; it takes you out of practice mode,” says Wilson. “If you do become a prosecutor, you have a head start: you have experience through the School that really prepares you for your first day as an ADA.”
Ultimately, the Criminal Clinic is about seeking justice. “The clinic provides a foundation in the ethical considerations that are so important to being a prosecutor,” says Wilson. “We never speak in terms of winning and losing in the prosecutor side of the clinic, nor do we speak in those terms in the DA’s office. The prosecutor’s duty is to make sure that justice is done, whether that means securing a conviction or not.”
Reported by Sara Womble (CFA’14)