Designed to provide an in-depth examination of how to litigate criminal cases in California for those pursuing a career in criminal defense or prosecution. Examining a criminal case beginning with an accused's right to representation at a lineup and ending with counsel's post trial responsibilities, course highlights special problems concerning admissibility of evidence, search and seizure issues, prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, jury selection, the death penalty, and the impact of the "Three Strikes You're Out" law. Each student is required to prepare and participate in a series of trial problems and research, write, and argue two motions. Prerequisites: 106 Criminal Law and 310 Criminal Procedure. 320 Evidence is not a prerequisite but highly recommended.

This course is a survey of various dispute resolution alternatives to the traditional trial process. The focus is on arbitration, negotiation, and mediation. Among the objectives for this course are that each student gain familiarity with these processes, with certain skills that might prove helpful in negotiating or mediating the resolution of a dispute, and with certain factors that might be relevant in selecting the most appropriate method or methods of dispute resolution for a client. The arbitration section of the course generally follows a traditional, case-dominated approach. During the negotiation and mediation sections of the course, students have the opportunity to participate in several mock negotiation and mediation exercises that are designed to enhance understanding of the assigned readings. Students also view and critique videotaped portions of one or more negotiations and mediations. The class utilizes extensive group discussion. Finally, each student is required to submit a paper on a topic of her or his choice relating to ADR and is required to present the paper to the class.

Legislative limits on free market transactions. This survey course covers restraints of trade such as price-fixing, market division, exclusive dealing and tying, monopolization, and mergers. A rudimentary knowledge of economic theory is required to understand court decisions, but many students master the few necessary economic principles during the course despite a lack of prior work in economics. Approved IP LL.M. course. 

This seminar investigates legal, ethical, and social problems caused by developments in medicine and the biological sciences.  Particular emphasis is placed on moral reasoning and ethical theory.  Topics include abortion, reproductive technologies, human stem cell research, death and dying, and reform of the American health care system. 

This course will introduce you to the issues encountered when starting up a biotech company and afterwards.  The course examines a variety of legal topics related to the biotechnology industry, such as the initial financing, the regulatory environment, intellectual property, licensing, antitrust and practical uses of biotechnology. Approved IP LL.M. course. 

The Broadband Regulatory Clinic provides students with the hands on experience of providing research, writing and filing policy comments on behalf of clients seeking representation in hearings before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and/or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Over the duration of the one semester clinic, students will interface with community-based, education, traditional civil rights, municipal and/or small business organizations to address timely cutting edge broadband regulatory issues before state or federal legislative and/or regulatory bodies. In addition, students will be required to write a substantive paper on a timely regulatory topic agreed upon by the student and the professor.  Enrollment will be limited.  Students who have taken Mass Communications I or Mass Communications II will have priority for purposes of placement in the clinic. Approved IP LL.M. course. 

Students learn about the functioning of lawyers through practical experience in law offices, governmental entities, nonprofit corporations, or high-tech companies. Concurrently, students' work experience will be critically examined to provide students with insights and concepts for continuing to improve performance as a lawyer. Students work under the direct supervision of a California licensed lawyer, for a minimum of 225 hours during the semester in which the accompanying academic course of instruction is offered. The internship includes observation of/or participation in several of the following activities: interviewing and counseling; fact and law investigation and organization; resolution of client problems in non-adversarial contexts (e.g., drafting contracts, tax advice, estate planning); resolution of client problems in an adversarial context (e.g., negotiation, court appearances in various proceedings, drafting of litigation documents); internal office affairs (e.g., file management, client communications, office policy and procedure). Students also attend a seminar that meets 15 hours throughout the semester. Requirements for the seminar may include assigned readings, journals through which students describe and reflect on the experience and individual consultations with the professor. Course credit will be awarded only on satisfactory completion of both the fieldwork and the seminar. Students must complete both components simultaneously. Graded Credit/No Credit. Prerequisite: 114 Pleading and Civil Procedure

This course provides an overview of the major themes in the contemporary uses of the world's oceans and coastal regions and the legal institutions that govern such uses at the state, national and international levels. Topics covered include: legal mechanisms for delimitation of marine boundaries and jurisdiction; common law and major acts protecting coastal zones and natural resources in the United States. International regimes to protect marine habitats and critical ecosystems, fisheries and marine mammal conservation regimes.

Community Economic Development (CED) is a broad-based strategy designed to help communities redress identified economic and social needs.�� The goals of CED include: (1) the development of business and economic institutions which increase the income of community residents; (2) the provision of more and better economic opportunities both inside and outside the community; (3) the participation in ownership and management of economic and social institutions by the residents of communities in which they are located; and (4) the development of economic and social institutions which the community residents can view with pride and which will be responsive to their real needs.��This course will explore the history and present status of CED strategies, focusing on the role of lawyers, economist, planners, social scientist, and others in using CED strategies to improve the economic and social conditions of communities throughout America.�� Subject areas to be covered include: community based organizations and tax issues; representing nonprofit organizations; housing and commercial development strategies and CED; job creation/access strategies and CED; finance strategies and CED; Asset Development and Wealth Building, and CED remedies in litigation.�� Students will have an opportunity to hear from Bay Area experts and practitioners working on these and other CED strategies, as well as from community based organization representatives who are improving their communities by providing housing, jobs, and social services to the neighborhoods in which they work.��

This interdisciplinary policy course addresses selected issues in some government benefit programs,  such as agricultural subsidies, Social Security, parental leave, and Medicare.  To enlighten and enrich the discussions of the policy implications of these programs and proposed revisions of them,  students will compare them to programs in foreign countries.  This course may be of special interest to Public Interest and International Certificate students.  Students will write a final paper and make interim policy reports. 

The course integrates practical experience gained from working in public agencies that prosecute or defend individuals accused of crimes (e.g., district attorney, public defender) with a seminar focusing on selected issues in the administration of justice. Such issues include the organization and administration of prosecutor and public defender offices, prosecutorial screening, and relations with police agencies, plea bargaining, and sentencing.

Students work in an appropriate public agency, under the direct supervision of a California licensed lawyer. Students must also attend a seminar that meets intermittently during the semester.

Requirements include assigned readings, participation in seminar meetings, and the preparation of a paper on an assigned topic. A minimum of 150 hours of work in the public agency is required. This work may be undertaken in the fall, spring, or summer of an academic year. Students must complete the fieldwork and the seminar simultaneously. Course credit will be awarded only on satisfactory completion of both the fieldwork and the seminar within the time frames described above. A student earns 3 units of credit for 150 hours of fieldwork with the seminar and 4 units of credit for 225 hours of fieldwork with the seminar. Graded Credit/No Credit. Prerequisite: 106 Criminal Law.

Students will be placed at the Santa Clara County Public Defender Office. Students will be given the opportunity to represent real clients and work on their cases at arraignments, pre-trial conferences, the motion calendar and if necessary, at trial. The first week students learn all facets of misdemeanor practice from arrest through sentencing and probation. The second weeks, students being supervised work in a courtroom and will be required to prepare the files before court with a senior attorney. This means the student must perfect discover, direct investigation, write and argue motions and assist clients in the settlement of their cases. Whether a student is permitted to conduct a trial, depends on their experience, profess and aptitude. If there is a trail, a senior member of the Public Defender Office would help prepare the case and accompany them, at counsel table, throughout the proceedings. The program requires a great deal of commitment by a student to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to work on real cases. The lessons learned in this clinic will be invaluable for any students would expect to practice in the criminal justice system. Students may not participate in this clinic while working in law enforcement or in the district attorneys office. Graded credit/no credit only. Prerequisites: 106 Criminal Law. 

This advanced seminar introduces students to key writings in critical race theory. The class explores critical race theory’s central themes, including the permanence of racism; the role of rights and civil rights laws; and the relationship between race, gender, sexual orientation and law.

The Death Penalty Clinic provides students with the opportunity to be involved in the defense of a capital case. Each student will be paired with an attorney who represents a person either charged with or convicted of a capital offense. The student will be involved in the preparation of both the guilt phase and the penalty phase including gathering of physical and forensic evidence, preparation of discovery requests and responses, investigation and preparing life histories and mitigating evidence and maintaining regular client contact.

Students in the Death Penalty Clinic must sign up in the spring semester and make a one-year commitment. They must work during the summer as well as during the fall and spring semester. Students earn 3 units of credit in the fall and 2 units in the spring semester (1 unit for each 50 hours of work) for a total of 5 units of Law Clinic credit during the year.

Covers a number of areas largely, but not completely, left uncovered by Labor Law and Employment Discrimination, including: background material on employees' rights under common law, early case law, and why certain rights have developed; hiring methods (tests and screening devices); terms and conditions of employment (wage and hour issues, fringe benefits [ERISA, COBRA], medical leave, etc.); conditions of employment (grooming, sexual harassment, privacy, etc.); workplace safety and health (OSHA, workers' compensation, etc.); wrongful termination (erosion of the at-will doctrine, the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, public policy, ADEA, FEHA, whistle-blower protection, public employee protection, constructive discharge, covenant not to compete, trade secrets issues, etc.); and unemployment and retirement issues (employer bankruptcy, plant closings under WARN, unemployment insurance benefits eligibility, private pensions protection under ERISA and rights to social security pensions). While Employment Discrimination is not a prerequisite, it is helpful.

Upon taking the Lawyer's Oath, a newly admitted attorney faces three significant sets of conflicts. First, there is the conflict between one's persoal morality and one's professional obligations. There are things that lawyers must do for clients that may be personally offesnive. Second, there is the conflict between a lawyer's duty to the client versus duties owed to the court, opposing counsel, and society in general (obligations to justice). Third, there are conflicts between the rules of ethics and a lawyer's zealous advocacy for a client. At minimum, the lawyer must meet the legal standard of reasonable care in order to avoid committing malpractice, and the ethical standard of competence to avoid being disciplined. At the other extreme, a lawyer's zeal is bounded by the laws of evidence, rules of ethics, and codes of civility. This course will focus on the ethical limits of advocacy in a variety of settings, including engaging in negotiatons, responding to discovery, coaching witnesses, offering evidence at trial, and the presentation of opening and closing arguments. In essence, the course focuses on trial tactics and persuasion. The central question will be: "What is the lawyer's commitment to truth?" Social justice issues permeate the materials. Class presentations and a final paper will also be required. Public Interest and Social Justice Law Certificate course.

A comprehensive introduction to the legal regulation of the family. The course focuses on contemporary legal issues, supplementing case material with historical and social science research and drafting, interviewing, and other exercises that require application of the materials. Coverage includes marriage, non-marital relationships, divorce, custody, support, and the legal issues posed by nontraditional families.

Examination of discrimination and privilege based on sex. The course evaluates the legal doctrines, litigation strategies, and theoretical debates that have resulted as women have sought to emerge from the historic status of legal subordination. All women, since women encompass different races, sexual orientations, classes, and cultural backgrounds, must necessarily be part of this discussion. The subject matter includes the constitutional right to equal protection; sex discrimination in employment and public accommodations; equal access to education; sexual violence, including rape, domestic violence, pornography, and sexual harassment; discrimination and privilege in family law; and reproductive freedom. Limited enrollment. (3 units)

This unique seminar gives students a chance to explore with faculty contemporry, cutting-edge issues in health care law.  Course may require a paper, an exam, or both.  Check the current semester schedule for current topics and course descriptions.

Exploration of the scope of discrimination in housing in the United States and the nature and adequacy of the legal remedies created to prevent it. The course will focus on primarily on federal statutory law, but will also examine some state statutes and some historical materials. Important themes of the class will be differences between the kinds of categories protected by state and federal statutes (e.g., race, sex, disabilities, and marital status) and continuing issues of residential segregation. Topics covered will include proving discrimination, discriminatory advertising, the meaning of race under the 1866 Civil Rights Act, the meaning of “handicap� under the Fair Housing Act, accommodation of persons with disabilities, and discrimination to achieve integration. Discrimination in lending, sexual harassment, marital status discrimination, and claims that enforcement of certain fair housing provisions violates the free exercise rights of landlords may also be covered.

This course gives students an opportunity to enhance their advocacy skills through representation of individual clients in immigration cases pending before the United States court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Students will represent clients under the Ninth Circuit's Pro Bono Program, which appoints counsel for certain applicants appearing pro se before the Court. Cases selected for the Pro Bono Program present issues of first impression complex issues of fact or law, or meritorious claims warranting further briefing. The Ninth Circuit's Pro Bono Coordinator has requested that Santa Clara University School of Law participate in the Pro Bono Program.  Public Interest and Social Justice Law Certificate course.  ( 2 units).

Examination of the Department of Justice, State Department, and Labor Department as they affect immigration and naturalization. Immigrant and non-immigrant visa problems; the exclusion, deportation, and naturalization processes. (3 units)

This course in many respects will operate as a specialized criminal law course, undertaking an elemental analysis of international crimes as they have developed and evolved in international law, and focusing on the challenges of interpreting and applying these norms in a criminal prosecution. The jurisprudence of the various war crimes tribunals and the text of and deliberations surrounding the new ICC statute will be scrutinized with an emphasis on understanding the prosecution’s burden, available defenses, and sources of proof. In addition to the substance of international criminal law, this course will also serve as an introduction to international legal reasoning and law-making.

The course examines domestic and international data privacy from a corporate compliance perspective. The aim of this course is to understand the laws and regulations protecting an individual's right to control his or her personal information and how companies comply with those laws and regulations.  This course will begin with a review of the origins of data privacy law from an international as well as American perspective. The course will cover current international, domestic, and sector specific laws and regulations. Throughout the course current trends and compliance challenges will be discussed with examples and hypothetical problems coming from a corporate high-tech perspective. Approved IP LL.M. course.

A consequence of commercial globalization is that disputes will occur between parties and, likely, the resolution of the disputes will not be resolved in or by a national judiciary.  Litigation, either in US courts or in foreign courts, is often considered the last resort.  What other dispute resolution options are available to commercial disputants form the basis for this course.  The program of study will focus on the non-judicial methods of resolving international disputes:  arbitration, mediation, and conciliation in the international context.  In class exercises, litigation, choice of law, and proceedings before international tribunals round out the curriculum.

Problems of trans-frontier pollution and efforts to prevent and remedy damage through bilateral and multilateral arrangements. Focus on water and air pollution, preservation of endangered species, climate change, and ocean protection. The work of international organizations such as the United Nations Environmental Program, the OECD, and the Common Market. (1-3 units)

International and regional mechanisms for the protection of individual rights; what those rights are; what procedures are available for use by attorneys in the United States. Offered spring semester, alternate years. (2 units)

Survey of public international law involving close consideration of the specificity of international law, its nature, and sources. The international legal processes: international law, treaties, and the role of municipal courts and international organizations. Focus on selected current problems such as self-determination, intervention, and the expropriation of alien-owned property. (3 units)

Introduction to the legal structure, powers, and functions of United Nations organizations, and specialized agencies and regional organizations, such as the Council of Europe, the European Economic Community, and similar economic organizations. (3 units)

A detailed examination of the operation of the juvenile justice system. The role and function of the police and of child protection agencies, public and private; the intake process and informal adjustment; the establishment of jurisdiction and the proof of jurisdictional facts; and dispositional and treatment services. Special attention to the assumptions underlying juvenile court intervention in cases of child neglect and abuse, incorrigibility, and delinquency. Critical appraisal of the major issues in the handling of juvenile misconduct and of the lawyer's function in the juvenile court process. Extensive student presentations required. Field visits to various juvenile facilities and juvenile court sessions. Materials and written work requirement to be announced. Limited enrollment. Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate course.

The legal topics of youth instruction include: Fourth Amendment Searches and Seizures; Fifth Amendment and Miranda Warnings; Unlawful Sex Crimes; Property Crimes (Theft and Vandalism); Three Strikes; Gang Conspiracy Laws; Proposition 21; Juvenile Justice Trials; Hate Crimes; Accomplice Liability; Drugs and Alcohol; and Recidivism. Graded Credit/No Credit. Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate course.Students continue to teach practical legal skills to at-risk youth on juvenile probation, while simultaneously cultivating the professional growth of their peers. The law students serve not only as an instructor and a weekly positive role model for 20 youth over the 14-week period, but also as a site leader. As a site leader, the students are responsible for communications with Probation, FLY, each of the youth, and the other volunteer law students. Site leaders evaluate the course and provide weekly feedback to the teaching team. The course includes three 2.5-hour orientation sessions, three lunch seminars, and regular check-in meetings. The trainings and seminars provide law students with instruction about substantive legal issues and professional skills such as, Public Speaking, Client Communication, Interviewing, Client Case Management, Juvenile Justice Research, Individual Evaluation, and Factual Investigation.

 The legal topics of this course include: Fourth Amendment Searches and Seizures; Fifth Amendment and Miranda Warnings; Unlawful Sex Crimes; Property Crimes (Theft and Vandalism); Three Strikes; Gang Conspiracy Laws; Proposition 21; Juvenile Justice Trials; Hate Crimes; Accomplice Liability; Drugs and Alcohol; and Recidivism. Students teach practical legal skills primarily to at-risk youth on juvenile probation. Legal concepts include constitutional law, criminal law, and criminal procedure. The 14-week Program seeks to use the law as a vehicle to build life-skills in disadvantaged youth while empowering them to exit the juvenile justice system. The law students will serve not only as an instructor, but as a weekly positive role model for 20 youth over the 14-week period. The course includes three 8-hour training sessions, three lunch seminars, and regular check-in meetings. The trainings and seminars provide law students with instruction about substantive legal issues and serves as a forum for sharing general impressions and ideas concerning successful teaching techniques.

Students counsel clients in the general advice immigration clinic on all aspects of immigration law including political asylum and deportation. In the VAWA (Violence Against Woment Act) advice clinics, students advise immigrant victims of domestic violence. Students interested in interviewing clients with political asylum, VAWA (battered immigrant spouses and children), U Visa (victims of particularly serious crimes), and T Visa (victims of human trafficking) claims MUST also register for the 1-unit credit/no credit course on trauma and working with traumatized clients (Health Law 418B). This one-unit course will be offered at the Law Center. Students who are unable to register for this one-unit course will be able to interview clints with non-trauma immigration cases such as relative petitions, citizenship, and other types of deportation defense cases. Students may not take more than one interviewing and advising class without the prior approval of the instructors. Graded Credit/No Credit.

Seminar required for law students participating in immersion trip to El Salvador. Topics for discussion include the role of law in democratic transitions, interface between law and development, structure of the legal system, justice issues, etc.�

The incorporation of internet protocol technology into traditional communications technologies is causing the competitive convergence of voice, video and data markets. “Intermodal� competition has begun between telephone and cable television firms (DSL vs. Cable Modem) and is expanding to include fixed wireless, satellite and broadband over electric power lines. This convergence of technology and markets calls into question the continued relevance and utility of separate regulatory paradigms for telecommunications (voice), cable television (video) and computers (information services). Convergence of network functionality and markets is reshaping historic federal and state regulatory and legal distinctions regarding jurisdiction, ownership, access, speech and public policy. This course introduces students to the evolving federal and state regulation of broadband networks. Emphasis is placed on students learning to recognize, understand and anticipate the changing relationships between technology, competition, regulation and law. There are no prerequisites for this course. Approved IP LL.M. course.

Introduces students to the federal regulatory law governing the ownership and operation of broadcast radio and television, cable television, and satellite video technologies. Emphasis is placed on students learning to engage in a comparative analysis of the regulatory schemes for various communications technologies. Students will examine regulations in light of constitutional issues, promoting competition and the goals of the Communications Act and the First Amendment of promoting diversity of voices and viewpoints. The course will also examine some contrasting regulatory approaches in different countries to the regulation of technology and content. There are no prerequisites for this course. Approved IP LL.M. course.

This course combines both theory and practice skills. A variety of readings, exercises, videos, and role-plays will be used to encourage in-depth analysis of mediation concepts and the application of these concepts in practice. Topics to be covered include negotiation theory, the mediation process, the role of the mediator, ethical issues in mediation, dealing with power imbalances, and the lawyer's role in the mediation process. Students will participate in exercises at various stages of the mediation process. Students will take personality inventories to learn about their own strengths and challenges, which will assist them in dealing with mediation participants.  Graded credit/no credit.

Focus on the function and nature of the negotiation process to enhance students' awareness of the existence of negotiating styles and their effects and to provide experience in the analysis of opponents, the formulation of negotiating strategy and tactics, and the counseling of clients in the negotiation context. The issues of professional responsibilities and ethical standards present in the negotiation context. Extensive videotaping of students' performance. Graded Credit/No Credit.

The Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) is a law school clinical program providing a unique educational oppurtunity for law students to investigate possible wrongful convictions and represent imprisoned clients with viable claims of actual innocence. Supervised by experienced legal and forensic staff, NCIP law students evaluate innocence claims by reviewing case histories, appellate briefs, transcripts, medical records, and other documents. Students participate directly in the investigative process by interviewing prisoners, witnesses, crime lab personnel, law enforcement, defense attorneys and prosecutors to help prove claims of innocence. Beyond investigating their cases and interviewing witnesses, NCIP students draft legal documents such as motions, declarations, briefs, legal memoranda and letters to attorneys, clients and others. Students also attend and participate in court proceedings. NCIP students must attend an intensive two day training session known as "NCIP Boot Camp" and attend classes twice weekly which focus on post-conviction law and issues relevant to wrongful conviction. Class topics include federal and state habeas corpus procedures, post-conviction DNA testing laws, investigation techniques, witness interview strategies, and the science of DNA testing. For every 50 hours of participation in the program including casework and class attendance, a student earns one unit. The first 3 units of academic credit earned at NCIP are graded. Any earned units above 3 are graded credit/no credit.

(Formerly titled Forensic Persuasion Seminar) Introduction to a variety of persuasion skills, including logic, reasoning (inductive, deductive, analogical, circular, paradoxical, metaphorical). Interviewing and interrogation techniques; listening skills; nonverbal behavior and the detection of deception; hypnotic communication technique; salesmanship; juror assessment techniques; and lawyers' styles, tactics, and strategies. Special emphasis on the relationships among persuasion, truth, ethics, and justice. Public Interest and Social Justice Law Certificate course. (3 units)

Skills related to pretrial civil litigation. The objectives of the course are to teach students basic skills needed in federal pretrial civil litigation practice, to develop knowledge of applicable pretrial rules, to develop skills in the discovery process, and to develop written and oral advocacy skills using modules relating to prefiling considerations, pleadings, motion practice, discovery, and the pretrial conference.  The course will meet for lecture and skills based exercises.  During the skills session, students will learn by doing and receive feedback and critique from the instructor and/or practitioners. The course will use one civil, high tech fact pattern over the course of the semester. Students will meet with clients; interview witnesses; draft and respond to discovery; take and defend depositions; and draft, oppose and argue motions. One fact pattern will be used throughout the course so that the emphasis remains on skills development rather than learning additional fact patterns or substantive areas of law. Limited enrollment 100 percent attendance required. Prerequisite: 114 Pleading and Civil Procedure. Pre- or Co-requisite 320. Evidence. Approved IP LL.M. course.

Legal rights and remedies associated with privacy. An exploration of the constitutional, statutory, and common-law doctrines that give individuals control over personal information and decisions. Practical application of these privacy doctrines in judicial, legislative, and administrative contexts to protect and to vindicate individual privacy. Approved IP LL.M. course.

The Seminar will provide both an overview of the problems faced by the indigent and subordinated as well as offering an opportunity to enhance the lawyering skills you will need to assist clients in the future. The class will also discuss the public interest problems confronting low income, multi-ethnic communities, including the availability of legal services (or the lack thereof). Throughout the semester, we will look at a variety of approaches to dealing with these public interest law problems including litigation, legislative, administrative, media work, community organizing and coalition building. The Seminar will also offer some introductory training in lawyering skills including interviewing, counseling and theory development. As part of the Seminar, each student will complete a written project trying to develop creative strategies for dealing with some problem area involving public interest law. We encourage students to work in pairs on these projects. Potential project areas might include child abuse, civil rights, consumer law, domestic violence, education law, elderly law, employment law, homelessness, housing, human rights, immigration law, and juvenile rights. These projects can fulfill the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement. There is no final examination for this course, rather the class will be graded based on your Seminar participation and your presentation and written project.