About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

50 Cal. W. L. Rev. 31 (2013-2014)
It's Not Just for Death Anymore: How Capital Mitigation Investigation Can Enhance Experiential Learning and Improve Advocacy in Law School Non-Capital Criminal Defense Clinics

handle is hein.journals/cwlr50 and id is 43 raw text is: IT'S NOT JUST FOR DEATH CASES ANYMORE: How CAPITAL MITIGATION INVESTIGATION CAN ENHANCE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND IMPROVE ADVOCACY IN LAW SCHOOL NON-CAPITAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE CLINICS HUGH M. MUNDY* INTRODUCTION Within the last two decades, the total number of defendants facing federal criminal charges has skyrocketed.' In 1995, 54,980 defendants were charged in federal courts throughout the country.2 By 2011, that number nearly doubled to 101,149 defendants.3 Almost 90,000 defendants-about 90-percent of those charged-entered pleas of guilty.4 Strikingly, only 274 defendants-less than one percent- were acquitted after a jury trial.5 In many states, the percentages of criminal defendants who pleaded guilty in 2011 are very similar to the federal totals.6 In effect, the term trial lawyer in the criminal * Assistant Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School. The author expresses his gratitude to Sheida Ahmadzadeh, Jillian Berner, Barry Chenman, Jesse Cheng, Gina DiCello, Olympia Duhart, Jillian Kassel, Lisa Lerman, Ashley Madonia, David Patton, Ellen Podgor, Alison Siegler, Jay Steed, and his family for their support, encouragement, and contributions to this article. 1. See Judicial Facts and Figures, U.S. COURTS (2011), http://www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/Statistics/JudicialFactsAndFigures/201 1/Table5O5 .pdf. 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Id. 5. Id. 6. For instance, in Pennsylvania, county-by-county statistics reflect higher percentages of guilty pleas than in federal courts. See PA. COMM'N ON SENTENCING, 31

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most