REQUIRED COURSES:

  • Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Appellate Advocacy – Criminal Law Section
  • Evidence
  • Externship

ELECTIVES:

  • Advanced Criminal Procedure
  • Virginia Criminal Procedure
  • Criminal Trial Practice
  • The Prosecution Project
  • Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Negotiations in the Criminal Justice System
  • Post Conviction Relief

To earn a Criminal Law Certificate, students must take all listed required courses, as well as complete an additional nine hours of qualifying electives. 

To be eligible for the certificate, students must attain a grade no lower than “Competent” and a “B” average in all courses taken to meet the Certificate requirements. Students must attain a grade no lower than a “B” average in all courses taken to meet the Certificate requirements.

The curriculum committee or the director of the certificate program, with the approval of the faculty, may add or delete qualifying elective courses.

The required first-year summer externship, or an externship during the following summer, will be with one of the following:

  • Prosecutor’s office
  • Public defender’s office
  • Judge
  • Attorney General’s office

Students must complete a minimum of 120 hours of third-year practice in a public defender’s or prosecutor’s office.

If interested in obtaining the Criminal Law Certificate, please contact the Registrar’s Office at 276-244-1204, or Judge Larry Elder at 276-244-1270 or lelder@asl.edu.

Learn more about other Certificate Programs offered at ASL.