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LAW-2960 Federal Criminal Practice Seminar
Hon. Gustavo Gelpi, Jr.,
2 credits day; 2 credits evening.
Intersession course.
The seminar consists in a detailed study of the federal criminal process, beginning with the grand
jury investigation, indictment and arrest of a defendant, and covering all subsequent phases until
sentence. Among the topics to be discussed are: 1) the Grand Jury, 2) the Bail Reform Act of
1984, 3) Discovery and pre-trial proceedings, 4) Speedy Trial Act, 5) the Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, 6) Sentencing under a non-mandatory Guideline regime (post 2005); 7) federal death
penalty proceedings, and 8) transfer of juveniles to adult status.
The two credit seminar will consist of daily lectures and class discussion of these topics, which
will include discussion of relevant jurisprudential concepts, as well as applicable statutory
authority and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Students will also participate in practical
class exercises, for example, in a sentencing problem, a student will be instructed to serve as the
judge, while others act as a prosecutor, defense attorney and probation officer. I addition,
learning of the various topics will be enhanced by visits from actual federal magistrate and/or
district judge, US Probation officer, Assistant US Attorney and Federal Public Defender, who
each day will be invited to discuss his/her real life experience in the federal criminal process.
Faculty comments
: Grading will be based 25% on class participation and 75% on a take-home
essay type examination. The two credit course is expected to run for a five day week,
approximately five hours per day. Three hours per day will be devoted to traditional lecture and
class exercised. The other two hours will be devoted to further discussions of the subjects learned
with the several invitees.
Elective Course
<<Course Updated: March 11, 2016>>