The St. Thomas Criminal and Juvenile Defense clinic is dedicated to serving the Twin Cities community by representing youth and adult defendants in criminal and delinquency cases who may otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. Our mission is to provide diligent, effective, and empathetic representation and advocacy in pursuit of each client’s desired outcome. The clinic also works to identify and remedy systemic problems which cause injustices or inequities within the criminal and juvenile legal systems.
Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic
The Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic is a one-semester, six-credit clinic offered in both the spring and fall semesters. Under the supervision of Professor Rachel Moran, students will have the opportunity to defend both children and adults accused of crimes in juvenile and criminal court.
Mission Statement
CJD student attorneys represent both children and adults facing a variety of charges including assault, theft, disorderly conduct, traffic offenses, and many others. Students appear in court regularly and develop skills including fact investigation, client counseling, witness interviewing, negotiation, motions writing, oral argument, direct and cross examination, jury selection, and other aspects of pretrial and trial litigation. Students may also be involved in complex post-trial litigation, including post-conviction petitions, appeals, or expungements. In some cases students will partner with graduate psychology and social work students in the Interprofessional Center to provide holistic services and counseling to clients.
Law students from the Criminal and Juvenile Defense clinic represent people facing misdemeanor or delinquency charges in both district and juvenile courts, and people seeking expungements. We provide client-focused, individualized representation consistent with your goals for the case.
If you believe you may qualify and would like to inquire about representation, please complete our Intake Form, or call us at (651) 962-4960 and inform the staff that you would like to complete an intake for the Criminal and Juvenile Defense Clinic.
Inquiries are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Representation depends upon income eligibility, education value to students, conflict of interest checks, timing and capacity.