Our Work and Impact
The Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic has two primary objectives:
1. Provide criminal defendants who cannot afford private counsel with highly effective representation that is client-centered, professional and ethical.
2. Create a structured and supervised environment which enables each student to
-
gain a detailed, working knowledge of how to represent a defendant;
-
apply that knowledge to actual criminal cases; and
-
gain feedback and reflection after each important stage of the case.
Faculty Supervision
Professor Richard Settgast is the director and co-founder of the Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic at Penn State Dickinson Law, and is also the director of LL.M. Legal Writing, Research, and Analysis. He joined the law school faculty after serving for seven years as an assistant public defender for Centre County, where he maintained a perfect jury trial record. He also served on the planning committee for the Centre County Drug Court, where he was tasked with ensuring the proposed treatment court program did not violate any of the constitutional rights of its participants. Prior to becoming an assistant public defender, he was a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas K. Kistler in the Court of Common Pleas for Centre County.
Professor Settgast has twice been recognized with teaching awards from his students, in 2020 and 2023.
Criminal Trial Simulation Course
Students must commit to participate in the Indigent Criminal Justice Trial Clinic for two semesters (fall and spring). In addition to the clinic course, students must enroll in the companion criminal trial simulation course each semester.
The companion simulation course provides students the opportunity to practice and develop fundamental lawyering skills and professional responsibilities in a controlled, safe, supportive, and instructive environment prior to performing adversarial hearings before a court. The simulation course covers all stages of a criminal case, including pre-trial conferences, jury selection, and a full trial, and is designed to provide students with enhanced expertise in all fields of advocacy.
Students learn:
-
Client management skills
-
Time management skills
-
Litigation
-
Negotiation
-
Ethics
-
Criminal law and procedure
-
Advocacy skills
-
Trial preparation
-
How to handle stressful adversarial situations
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-pleadings, pretrial motions, discovery, settlement negotiations, trial preparation, jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination of lay witnesses, examination of expert witnesses, trial motions, and 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. In addition to introducing students to constitutional analysis, the course previews the ethical dimensions of defending persons accused of crime. The class also views a trial during the criminal term at the Court of Common Pleas.
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. Discipline and professional malpractice are also treated.