Instructor(s): Martha Shaffer, Colleen McKeown, Nader Hasan, Mark Halfyard, Gerald Chan, Erin Dann
Pre-requisites/Co-requisites
Externship Seminar

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite: Criminal Procedure, The Constitutional Law of Criminal Procedure, or Evidence Law

Note: 2 credits (ungraded) per term

Max enroll: 4 JD (limited to third year students)

Conditional enrolment - See details on how to register below.

Note: Enrollment in this clinic is conditional. The Records Office will add the clinic to the student's course selection once participation is confirmed by the clinic instructor. In the meantime, students must select sufficient credits for the term/year. Students approved for the clinic will have the opportunity to adjust their credits before the add/drop deadline.

Note: Students enrolled in year-long externships must participate in the fall term Externship Seminar.

Learning objectives:
The goal of the externship is to provide students with hands-on experience in working on criminal appeals pending before the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Students will learn about written and oral appellate advocacy; how to formulate, research and resolve legal questions; and how to manage the different stages of complex criminal appeals.

Placement activities:
Cases will be drawn from interventions and direct appeals on criminal matters to the Court of Appeal for Ontario, including via the Court's duty panel appeals program, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Under the supervision of experienced criminal appellate litigators, students will conduct legal research, draft memoranda and contribute to draft factums. They will meet regularly with their supervising lawyer to receive feedback on their work and to discuss the appeals. Students may also have the opportunity to attend and observe hearings. While the pacing and volume of work is subject to variation in the flow and complexity of appeals, students can expect a workload of between 70 and 90 hours per term. 

How to register for this course: 
To register for this course, please send an email to Sara Faherty at sara.faherty@utoronto.ca with a current CV, and a statement of interest explaining why you wish to enroll in the Appellate Criminal Litigation externship by the deadline for course selection before the lottery.

Evaluation
Satisfactory completion of the externship, including the submission of the required assignments, evaluations and logs, earns four ungraded credits (two per term). The faculty supervisor assesses, in consultation with the field supervisor, whether the requirements for earning credit have been met.
Academic year
2023 - 2024

At a Glance

Both Terms
Credits
4
Hours
0

Enrolment

Maximum
4

4 JD