Criminal Pretrial Advocacy (American Casebook Series)

Criminal Pretrial Advocacy fills a critical gap in the skills training for law students by providing a complete course addressing the pretrial phase of a criminal prosecution along with plea negotiation and sentencing. It contains materials to follow a case through all the important steps in a criminal prosecution from the decision to file charges to challenges to the investigative tactics and evidence to plea bargaining. The casebook covers the pretrial process in a criminal case by incorporating both a discussion of the rules and procedures in each phase along with the basic legal doctrines related to criminal prosecutions. This gives students the substantive foundation to proceed through the Criminal Pretrial Advocacy course by providing a foundation for understanding how the process unfolds. The casebook, in conjunction with the case files described below, are designed to help students improve their advocacy skills by giving them the opportunity to engage in both writing exercises and court appearances.

The casebook and Teachers Manual are accompanied by two case files designed to provide students with the opportunity to work with the materials as a prosecutor and defense counsel during the semester. The cases involve drug distribution and mortgage fraud, and include a set of agent reports that give the basic factual scenario along with other documents that can be provided at different points in the semester. An electronic version of the case files is available on a website that may only be accessed by instructors, www.HenningCrimPretrialAd.com, and samples of the types of documents in each case file can be found in the Teachers Manual.

The Teachers Manual provides the instructor with detailed information about how to structure the Criminal Pretrial Advocacy course and the various issues that will arise as the class progresses through the process. It also contains sample rubrics, schedules, and bench memos detailing the legal issues that are likely to be raised in the two case files that can be used in conjunction with the casebook.

For more information and additional teaching materials, visit the companion site.