Erin E. Murphy

Courses

• 1L Reading Group: Criminal Defense Lawyering

  Media and entertainment are full of stories about prosecutors, but less attention is given to the role of the defense. There are many different ways to "do" criminal defense work, and yet popular depictions tend to focus only on beleaguered public defenders or smarmy private counsel. This reading group will explore different modes of criminal defense lawyering -- such as litigating at the trial, appellate, and impact levels; working in state v. federal courts; representing indigent persons v. private clients; and related topics. We will read accounts of defense lawyering, and also touch on issues of career development, burnout and secondary trauma, and questions of race, gender, class, and other personal characteristics that arise in practice. We will also hear from or take field trips to visit currently practicing criminal defense attorneys, as feasible. Note: although questions about abolition and activism will naturally arise in the course of this reading group, including in thinking about impact lawyering or the role of defense counsel as part of the broader system, the focus of the reading group is on lawyering roles within the currently constructed criminal legal system -- not on modes of activism aimed at dismantling the system.

• Criminal Law

  This an introductory course on the jurisprudence of substantive criminal law. It deals with the necessary conditions of blameworthiness as a precondition for criminal liability, including such topics as strict liability, negligence, causation, accomplice liability and attempts. It examines justifications and excuses, including necessity, self-defense, duress, intoxication and insanity. Because criminal law is codified, the course provides a solid introduction into reading and interpreting statutes.

• Evidence

  Trials are often described as a competition between the opposing parties' narratives. This course examines the rules that govern how those narratives are told. Our focus will be the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Confrontation Clause, and common law, and we will consider the text, history, policies, and application of evidentiary rules. Topics will include relevance, hearsay, character evidence, and impeachment, among others.

• Professional Responsibility in Criminal Practice Seminar

  This course examines the ethical and moral issues that confront prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys. It assumes familiarity with the basic operation of the criminal justice system. We will examine applicable rules, guidelines, and standards in the context of the real operation of criminal practice today. Grading for the course will be a combination of class participation and completion of assigned exercises, several reflection papers, and a short final paper.

• Professional Responsibility in Criminal Practice Seminar: Writing Credit