Department of Justice Science

PRE-LAW PROGRAM CURRICULA MODEL FOR 2005/2006
Programmatic Background
At the heart of the UAB Pre-Law Program lies the recruitment and fielding of its annual Mock Trial Team. UAB’s Justice Sciences Department fielded its first undergraduate Mock Trial Team in 1995/1996 as a participating university under the auspices of the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA). Since then, a UAB team has earned a bid to a nationally competitive final venue in every year but one! Punctuating its unprecedented record of competitive success, UAB’s Mock Trial Team won the Southeast Regional Championship in 2004 and placed Second Nationally in 2002. The Team and Coaches are committed to celebrate the Pre-Law Program’s tenth anniversary by finally achieving our goal of bringing a National Championship trophy back to UAB in the Spring of 2005! Individual team members have also earned recognition as best attorney and best witness. The 2005/2006 undergraduate mock trial season will span the Fall and Spring semesters, requiring the team to travel to an Invitational competition in November and Regional Competition in February. Those teams which earn a bid to the National Competition are invited to either St. Paul, Minnesota or Des Moines, Iowa each March/April.

Several members of the Birmingham Bar Association have given of their time and effort to assist the Teams over the years in the capacities of coaching and judging practice scrimmages. Attorneys John Grimes and James Phillips have served as coaches, and Judges Ott, Greene, McCormick, Hard and Johnson have judged practice rounds. We envision maximum capitalization upon all opportunities to publicize the professional support given to the UAB Mock Trial Team by the Birmingham Bar Foundation and the members of the Birmingham Bar Association at large. Furthermore, UAB’s Pre-Law Program is served masterfully by its Advisory Board comprised of fifteen practicing attorneys including a US Magistrate Judge and County Circuit Court Judge. Subcommittees of the Board provide guidance and support to our students, faculty and staff focusing upon recruiting competition judges and guest lecturers, scholarship development and programmatic fundraising.

Simply stated, our goal is not to manufacture more lawyers - but rather to provide UAB’s undergraduate students the earliest opportunity to make an intelligent, informed and experientially-based decision about a life-long commitment to the legal profession. At the conclusion of each competitive season, we have seen students make decisions to pursue further graduate studies in a wide variety of related disciplines, to include business, medicine as well as law. In August of 2005, UAB’s Pre-Law Program moved into the new University Blvd. Office Bldg. (UBOB) which contains the Burr-Foreman, LLP UAB Mock Trial Courtroom and dedicated practice suite facilities.

CORE PRE-LAW COURSES	SCHOOL YEAR
	First (Freshman)	Second (Sophomore)	Third (Junior)	Fourth (Senior)
Judicial Process (230	Fall	Fall	Fall	Fall
Civil Law & Procedure *TBD		Spring**	Spring**	Spring**
Criminal Law (330)	All	All	All	All
Criminal Procedure (331)		Spring	Spring	Spring
Evidence (332)		May M/T	May M/T	May M/T
Trial Advocacy (333)		Fall	Fall	Fall
Spec. Topics: Legal Profession (402)			Summer	Summer
Mock Trial Competition (434)			Fall/Spring	Fall/Spring
***See cross-listing possibilities below	Varies	Varies	Varies	Varies

**Offered in odd numbered years to align with American Mock Trial Association civil case assignments.

Catalogue Course Descriptions:
JS 230. The Judicial Process in America: An Overview. Judicial process, focusing on structure and function of courts, judicial selection and behavior, prosecution, jury system, and role of lawyers in American society. Prerequisite(s): JS 100 3 hours

JS *TBD. Civil Law and Procedure. Overview development and practical application of the principal areas of the civil law including torts, contracts, property, and civil procedure. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 3 hours

JS 330. Criminal Law. Development of criminal law, elements of criminal offenses, types of offenses and defenses, case analysis, and legal terminology. Prerequisite(s): JS 100 3 hours

JS 331. Criminal Procedure. Process utilized to convict and punish. Legal steps of criminal proceedings from initial investigation through trial and punishment. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 3 hours

JS 332. Evidence. System of rules and standards, both state and federal, by which admission of proof at trial is regulated and verdicts/judgments are entered. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 3 hours

JS 333. Trial Advocacy. Civil and criminal litigation, judicial system and exposure to courtroom procedure, evidence, and the art of advocacy. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 & 332 3 hours

JS 334. Legal Research and Writing. Foundation in the elements of legal research and writing, with an emphasis on developing and writing a legal brief. The student will learn how to systematically locate sources of legal information and how to logically and persuasively apply it in proper argumentative fashion. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 3 hours

JS 335. Mediation.

JS 401. Special Topics: Legal Profession. Accomplished subject matter practitioners present weekly mini-seminars, under the guidance of the Pre-Law Program Director, in the legal domains of civil litigation, criminal prosecution, criminal defense, labor and employment law, products liability, domestic relations law, military justice, environmental law, indigent legal aid, alternative dispute resolution techniques, etc. Prerequisite(s): JS 230 3 hours

JS 434. Mock Trial Competition. Students are trained to represent UAB as members of the UAB Mock Trial Team before invitational, regional, and national trial competitions. May be taken twice for a total of 6 hours. Prerequisite(s): JS230 and JS332 3 hours

Courses that may be cross-listed with other Departments at UAB to develop specific area(s) of legal concentration with advance coordination and approval of the Pre-Law Program Director:

AC 457 Business Law for Accountants
ECY 477 Legislative Issues in Special Education
CE 431 Environmental Law
CE 449 Engineering Liability
AHS 333 Law for Health Care Professionals
RAD 265 Medical Law and Ethics
PSC 386 The American Judicial Process
PSC 441-442/541-542 American Constitutional Law
SW 450 Social Justice: Philosophy and Concepts
HY 409 American Constitutional History to 1877
HY 410 American Constitutional History Since 1877
JS 444/544 Law and Society
PY 275 Psychology and Law
PHL 135 Rule of Law

Finally, areas ripe for future programmatic expansion and course development include Moot Court Competition (appellate argument), and Alternative Dispute Resolution practices including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.

For more information, or to schedule Pre-Law counseling, contact:

John W. Grimes, J.D.
Pre-Law Program Director
205.934.8509
jwgrimes@uab.edu