Apart from their assigned mod courses, 1L students may only enroll in courses offered as 1L electives. A complete list of these courses can be found on the 1L Elective Listings page. 1L students must use the 1L class number listed on the course description when enrolling.
246.1 sec. 001 - Criminal Trial Practice (Spring 2023)
Instructor: Charles M Denton (view instructor's teaching evaluations - degree students only | profile)
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Units: 3
Grading Designation: Graded
Mode of Instruction: In-Person
Meeting:
W 6:25 PM - 9:05 PM
Location: Law 140
From January 11, 2023
To April 19, 2023
Course End: April 19, 2023
Class Number: 31940
Enrollment info:
Enrolled: 15
Waitlisted: 0
Enroll Limit: 16
As of: 08/24 11:03 PM
This course focuses upon the courtroom application of criminal law principles and practices. Students will prepare and present opening statements, direct and cross examination, documentary and demonstrative evidence, and closing arguments. They will also gain a practical understanding of common issues in criminal law, including bail, sentencing, preliminary hearings, ethics and misconduct and motions to suppress.
The format will be hands-on and participatory, and the emphasis will be on learning practical techniques for shaping the evidence, using the law, and exploiting the courtroom to create a coherent and convincing case theory. All performances will be videotaped and the course will culminate in a half-day jury trial.
Enrollment is limited to 16 students. Class enrollment will be determined by the beginning of the second class meeting. Therefore, all students interested in enrollment should be present for both the first and second classes.
Instructor Biography: Charles Denton is in his 39th year as an attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender's Office. Nearly all of that time has been spent in the courtroom. He has litigated hundreds of motions and hearings and has tried nearly every kind of criminal case -- from drunk driving to the death penalty. He is one of the most prolific lecturers on trial practice and criminal litigation in the state and a well-recognized expert on criminal law and procedure. He is the author of Criminal Defense Jury Instructions: California Criminal Jury Charges. For nearly a decade, he was one of the principal authors of California Continuing Education of the Bar's Recent Developments in Criminal Law Practice. He was also one of the original authors of their California Criminal Law: Procedure and Practice manual and is a current author of their California Sentencing Enhancements handbook. His written manuals and practice guides are highly acclaimed and have been widely published. This is Denton's 25th year teaching at Berkeley Law. He is a Christopher Edley Jr. Lecturer at Law.
Attendance at the first class is mandatory for all currently enrolled and waitlisted students; any currently enrolled or waitlisted students who are not present on the first day of class (without prior permission of the instructor) will be dropped. The instructor will continue to take attendance throughout the add/drop period and anyone who moves off the waitlist into the class must continue to attend or have prior permission of the instructor in order not to be dropped.
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Requirements Satisfaction:
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Exam Notes: (T) Course ends in a final practice trial, arguments, or other presentation (e.g. Powerpoint)
(Subject to change by faculty member only through the first two weeks of instruction)
Course Category: Simulation Courses
This course is listed in the following sub-categories:
Criminal Law
Social Justice and Public Interest
If you are the instructor or their FSU, you may add a file like a syllabus or a first assignment to this page.
Readers:
A reader will be used in this class.
Books:
Required Books are in blue
- Modern Trial Advocacy Analysis & Practice: Law School Fourth Edition (NITA)
Lubet, Steven
Edition: Fourth Edition
Publisher: NITA
ISBN: 9781601565730
e-Book procurement note: 6th ed. ebook available from NITA
Price: $79.95
Price Source: user provided - Trial Techniques and Trials
Mauet, Thomas
Edition: 10th Ed 2017
Publisher: Aspen
ISBN: 9781454886532
e-Book procurement note: 11th, 2021 ed e book available from Aspen Publishing
Price: 171.00
Price Source: user provided - California Evidentiary Foundations
Imwinkelreid, Edward & Leach, Thomas
Edition: 5th ed., 2020
Publisher: Lexis Nexis
ISBN: 9781522185918
e-Book procurement note: 2022 ed available on LexisNexis Digital and on Lexis Plus
Price: 193.00
Price Source: user provided