Investigative Law Course Stages Investigation and Trial

Justice was dispensed 49-er style through a course in Investigative Law taught by former federal prosecutor Kathleen Nicolaides.  The Department of Criminal Justice, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, offers this course regularly.  Combining graduates and undergraduates alike, the course takes students through all phases of a criminal investigation, right up through the trial.  Students play the roles of experts, witnesses, attorneys, and jury members to work through the case.

This semester, students examined a complicated homicide.  Attorneys examined evidence, questioned experts, and put witnesses on the stand to persuade the jury.  At the end of the 3-hour trial, one class’s jury returned a guilty verdict while the other returned a not guilty verdict.  “The students seemed to enjoy the trial part of the course, despite the amount of work involved,” remarked Nicolaides.  “It was fascinating for me to sit in as a silent observer on the jury deliberations and hear what they had to say about the evidence and lawyers.  As a teacher, it was a fascinating experience.”