Administrative/Civil Law Clinic
Criminal Law Clinic
Domestic Violence Clinic
Elder Law Clinic
Juvenile Law Clinic
Low-income Taxpayer Clinic

This clinic was added to the Clinical Education Program in 1991, beginning with a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The clinic exposes students to a variety of cases, including divorce, child custody, child support, contempt, parental visitation, and spousal support.

More recently, students have been allowed to practice in Non-Support Court, which is a quasi-judicial administrative court system set up to prosecute those who are delinquent in or refuse to recognize their child support obligations. Through this system the students learn to practice both administrative and criminal law.

 

Criminal Clinic
Managing Attorney: Donald North, Director
(225) 771-3333
Dnorth@sulc.edu

The Criminal Clinic, SULC’s first clinic, provides an opportunity for students to represent indigent defendants who have been charged with various misdemeanors and some relative felonies in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. Students are exposed to and participate in every aspect of trial. The clinic’s mission is to provide competent legal assistance and representation to indigent defendants in criminal misdemeanor and relative felony matters, to provide a practical forum for third-year law students to demonstrate their knowledge of theories learned in their criminal law and procedure courses, and to expose students to interaction with clients, lawyers, judges, and other professionals in the criminal justice system while the students acquire skills that are essential to the competent practice of criminal law.

The Criminal Law Clinic got its start in Baker City Court in the 1970s. The clinic was originally called the “Criminal Misdemeanor Clinic” and was limited to 25 third-year students who handled cases involving theft, assault, battery, and traffic violations, such as failure to yield and driving while intoxicated. SULC expanded the clinic in 1999 to meet additional student demands. The clinic, appropriately renamed the Criminal Law Clinic, was then assigned to the 19th Judicial District Court. Students are allowed to handle cases involving felony theft, driving while intoxicated, child desertion, simple and aggravated battery, criminal damage to property, criminal mischief, possession of marijuana, and various other drug offenses. This expansion was an appropriate enhancement for the student’s knowledge and skills and gave them a more accurate view of the formalities of the criminal justice system.

Students are responsible for handling every aspect of the case from the initial client interview to filing motions, arguing various criminal statutes at hearings, conducting preliminary examinations, negotiating with the assistant district attorney, and trying the case. Currently the clinic is exploring the possibility of accepting more felony appointments by the court in an effort to allow students the opportunity to obtain jury trial experience.

 

Domestic Violence Law Clinic
Managing Attorney: Marcia Burden
(225) 771-5743
Mburden@sulc.edu

The Domestic Violence Law Clinic, established in 2003, trains third-year students to intervene in domestic violence matters, as part of a court-ordered program. Students learn to draft temporary restraining orders/complaints, to prepare domestic violence witnesses for hearings and trials, and to provide appropriate mediation. The primary goals of the program are to train future lawyers to be more sensitive to the needs of victims of domestic violence, to impress upon the law faculty the need to integrate such training into the curriculum, and to provide critical legal services to combat domestic violence.

This new clinic is the first step in the clinical education program’s efforts to lead the fight against domestic violence and serves as the building blocks for educating law students, faculty, and the Baton Rouge community about domestic violence issues.

 

Elder Law Clinic
Managing Attorney: Dorothy F. Jackson
(225) 771-5745
Djackson@sulc.edu

The Elder Law Clinic provides third-year law students with an opportunity to gain understanding of the substantive laws affecting the elderly and actual litigation experience in several divisions of the 19th Judicial District Court. The clinic’s mission is to provide access to justice to an ever-increasing number of elderly citizens who are unable to afford adequate legal representation and to provide classroom instruction and real-life cases to third-year law students in an effort to not only teach them how to become effective litigators, but also become respectable professionals with social consciences. Elder law students handle civil-law-related matters that may include Medicaid, guardianship, wills, housing, consumer fraud, abuse, and neglect.

The Elder Law Clinic was created in fall 1998. In its first semester the clinic enrolled eight students who handled various cases ranging from divorce to grandparent visitation and custody rights to financial exploitation. The clinic developed relationships with local agencies, including Capital Area Legal Services, East Baton Rouge Parish Council on Aging, and the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs and received a number of referrals. The clinic also received appointments from the Nineteenth Judicial District court in interdiction proceedings. The clinic provides instruction in drafting legal documents such as simple wills and powers of attorney. To complement classroom instruction and in an attempt to increase students’ awareness of this fast-growing specialty, students meet local private attorneys, social workers and case managers handling elder abuse cases. The clinic also works with the Protective Services Division of Capital Area Legal Services.

 

The clinic was added to the Clinical Education Program in 1988. Its students handle a large number of delinquency cases each semester, including physical fights, extortion, prostitution, possession and distribution of controlled substances, aggravated assault, simple battery, armed robbery, possession of a firearm, simple and aggravated burglary, and misdemeanor and felony theft. The time limitation imposed by the Children’s Code for hearings and dispositions allows the clinic to receive appointment on a large number of cases. In 1998 the clinic expanded its representation to include Families in Need of Services cases. In these cases the students can represent the child or the adult. The students also handle Children in Need of Care cases, wherein they represent parents accused of neglecting or abusing their children.

 

Students have the opportunity to represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), prepare and compile documentation, and resolve various tax issues low-income individuals deal with on a regular basis.

When students complete the classroom instruction, they are exposed to practical real-world issues that challenge private tax attorneys in their day-to-day law practice. Students have “hands on” experience in how to interact with the IRS and how to handle issues as simple as preparing a request for an extension to file an income tax return, or as complex as litigating in the United States Tax Court.

The caseload of the student attorneys in the Low-income Taxpayer Clinic can be as high as five cases during the semester. Although students do not prepare income tax returns, they come to understand how the tax return forms work and what forms to use in certain situations. The primary source materials for the clinic are the Internal Revenue Code and other documents and materials issued by the IRS.

Students are instructed on ethical issues as they apply to the client individually and the attorney’s representation of the client.

The Low-income Taxpayers Clinic gives the student attorneys a distinct advantage over students who must gain experience, skills, and confidence after entering the workforce.