Our Work and Impact
The Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services Clinic allows students to represent indigent criminal defendants in appellate and post-conviction proceedings. Students learn litigation, appellate brief writing, negotiation and advocacy skills.
Students enroll for an academic semester in the clinic, and work collaboratively on various post-conviction matters and criminal appellate cases (including amicus briefs and petitions to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court). The post-conviction matters involve reviews of the factual underpinnings of various criminal cases and analysis of relevant case law to determine grounds for relief. Students also assist state prison inmates in their applications for commutation of their sentences.
More news about post-conviction relief effort in four-decades-old murder case:
Faculty Supervision
Professor Gopal Balachandran is an Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Penn State Dickinson Law, where he directs the Criminal Appellate and Post-Conviction Services Clinic. In that role, he supervises students on a variety of post-conviction and appellate matters throughout Pennsylvania. In past cases, the clinic has served as amicus counsel for the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the ACLU and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Representative amicus cases include the League of Women Voters v. Degraffenreid, Commonwealth v. Fountain, Commonwealth v. Pacheco.
Prior to joining the law school, Balachandran worked as a public defender in Massachusetts, New York and Maryland, where his caseload ranged from possession of drugs to first-degree murder. Recognized throughout Pennsylvania, Balachandran is on the faculty of the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania Appellate Academy and was appointed by Governor Josh Shapiro as the law school representative for the Indigent Defense Advisory Commission (“IDAC”). IDAC is charged by statute to assist in the disbursement of state funds—a first in Pennsylvania—to indigent defense providers. Professor Balachandran is also involved in the community as a councilmember of the State College Borough Council.
Related Courses
Trial Advocacy
This course introduces the fundamental skills of trial advocacy applicable in civil and criminal trials in any jurisdiction. In keeping with the theory that trial advocacy is best learned by "doing," each student will conduct written and oral exercises concerning the various stages of the trial process—from pleadings and pretrial motions all the way through closing arguments.
Criminal Law
This course deals with what is called substantive criminal law, i.e., crimes. Numerous crimes such as homicide, theft, and conspiracy are examined, and defenses such as self-defense and insanity are scrutinized. A primary focus of the course is the utilization and interpretation of criminal statutes.
Criminal Procedure
The Criminal Procedure course explores the interface between the criminal justice system and the United States Constitution. The course examines constitutional limits on police investigation and interrogation as well as the circumstances under which indigent defendants are guaranteed the assistance of counsel.
Evidence
This course presents evidence in trials under the Federal Rules of Evidence, at common law and in equity and with reference to administrative bodies. The reasoning from which rules arise in areas including relevancy, competency, privilege, examination of witnesses, writing, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, burden of proof, presumptions, judicial notice, and constitutional evidence problems is also addressed.
Professional Responsibility
Through the use of hypothetical situations, this course attempts to generate student sensitivity to ethical problems faced by lawyers in various kinds of practice. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the older Code of Professional Responsibility are the basic tools, but discussion centers as well on case law, ABA opinions and standards, statutes, and the dictates of conscience.