Students in the CJC-Prosecution section prosecute criminal and traffic misdemeanors in Maryland state’s attorneys’ offices under the supervision of prosecutors employed in those offices.  Students are placed in Montgomery, Prince Georges, Ann Arundel and Frederick counties.  Typically, students can expect to spend one day each week at their assigned office where they appear in court handling cases, and to devote additional time to casework preparation. Students learn about the role of a prosecutor, the court system, case planning, witness interviews, and advocacy skills. Students build skills as they gain the confidence of their supervisors, beginning with observation, then handling dismissals, pleas and sentencing, and sometimes culminating in conducting a trial. 2L and 3L full-time students, and 3L and 4L evening students, if their work schedules permit, can participate in the CJC. Students participate in a 3-credit seminar each week. CJC-Prosecution is offered in the Fall semester.  The seminar is taken in conjunction with fieldwork, with the exception that a few students in the prosecution section participate in the seminar in the fall semester with fieldwork in the spring semester.

Criminal Procedure and Evidence are pre-requisites for participating in CJC. While CJC-Prosecution is a part of the clinical program, students who participate in CJC-Prosecution practice in the prosecution office to which they are assigned and are not part of the clinics’ law firm. Ethical rules governing conflicts of interest do not allow attorneys prosecuting criminal cases to participate in the same law firm as attorneys defending clients facing criminal charges. 

During the application process, we ask for student preferences for specific offices, and assign students to an office when they are selected for the clinic.  Students typically will work in their assigned office one day each week (the same day) but may on occasion be asked to work a second day.  In Prince George’s County, students work 2 days per week for one additional fieldwork credit. Additional time is required for case preparation. When you are accepted to clinic, we require that you reserve at least 2 days per week for possible placement so that the office that you are assigned to has flexibility in assigning you to a specific day. You typically won’t be assigned a specific day until the start of classes in August. There is no AUWCL orientation for students participating in prosecution; some prosecution offices may hold an orientation during the first week of classes.