The Intensive Program in Criminal Law immerses students in the criminal law adjudicatory process. The Program is designed to bridge the divide between the student’s understanding of criminal law and procedure in theory gained through classroom instruction, and the realities of how the criminal justice system operates in fact.
What You Will Do
You will spend the first two weeks of the semester participating in a series of lectures focused on how substantive, procedural, and evidentiary law is actually applied in the day-to-day operation of the criminal courts. Prominent members of the legal and forensic science communities attend to lecture on an array of topics, such as DNA evidence, cross-examining witnesses, drinking and driving, forensic psychiatry, special diversion courts, plea bargaining, and judicial perspectives on advocacy. Following this, you will have the opportunity to participate in a 10-week placement with a specially selected member of the judiciary, Crown counsel, or defence counsel. Your clinical placement allows you to both observe and become involved in the criminal process in action. Through your placement you will be exposed to every element of the process from initial client interview to sentencing and appeal. Every Friday during your placement you will return to Osgoode where you, as well as your classmates, will present on selected topics in criminal law. Additionally, you will conduct a mock trial, acting as either the prosecution or the defence, before judges at the Ontario Court of Justice.
Examples of Past Placements
- Greenspan Partners
- Brauti Thorning, Barristers
- Daisy Bygrave, Barrister
- Derstine Penman
- Crown Law Offices – Downtown, East, New Market and Brampton
- Crown Law Office Criminal (Appeal)
- Ontario Court of Justice Newmarket, Brampton
- Superior Court of Justice, Newmarket
What You Will Learn
- the various stages of the criminal trial process
- advocacy skills
- the intersection of criminal and mental health law
- the benefits and limitations of speciality courts
