Second- and third-year law students have the opportunity to participate in the Frank J. Remington Center's Federal Appeals Project (FAP), an expansion of the Oxford Federal Project. The Federal Appeals Project combines class work on federal appellate procedure, client-centered representation, issue spotting, and persuasive writing with work on an actual criminal appeal assigned by Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

  

Course Curriculum

Students work in pairs on a criminal appeal under the supervision of Clinical Professor Adam Stevenson. Appeals are timed so that the transcripts begin arriving in the fall. Assuming that a case has merit, briefing in the Seventh Circuit takes place during the late fall and spring semesters. Please note that students must make a 2-semester commitment, to ensure they can take a case from start to finish.

In the fall, students will take a two-credit class entitled "Special Problems in Criminal Justice Administration: Federal Criminal Appeals," along with three credits of clinical work. This class qualifies for the 60-credit rule. The class features weekly large group and small group discussion sections. In large group sessions, students learn about federal appellate procedure, the ethics of appellate representation, issue spotting, and persuasion. At the same time, in the small groups and clinical components, students communicate with their clients, read transcripts, and research and investigate their client’s cases.

During spring semester, students again take the seminar components, along with a clinical course for 3 credits. Credits vary, depending on how much work each appeal requires. There may be large group sessions during the spring, but most of the work will be on the appellate cases.

  

Learn More

If you are interested in the Federal Appeals Project opportunities in the Oxford Federal Project, please contact Clinical Professor Adam Stevenson in Room 4318J. You can reach Professor Stevenson by phone at 608-262-9233; or email at adam.stevenson@wisc.edu.