Spring 2021: Criminal Defense Clinic
Closing report on the 2020-2021 Criminal Defense Clinic year, with 148 cases for 92 clients, the Clifford Brown Award to Patricia Cabrera-Sopo, and the usual farewell on practice and the bar exam.
From the Desk of Patrick S. Metze – Director, Criminal Defense Clinic
As is our custom, the students in the 2020-2021 Criminal Defense Clinic were busy all year representing real people in real cases in real time. This year, the students handled 148 cases for 92 clients. Of these cases, 41 are still pending, 51 were disposed of through some type of negotiated plea, and 56 cases were dismissed. Cases consisted of 89 misdemeanors and 59 felonies. This is an average student case load of over 18 cases and almost 12 clients per student, which is well in excess of the clients and cases promised in the clinic catalogue.
This column is reproduced only in brief. Read the whole thing in the Spring 2021 issue at Texas Tech Law.