Any criminal justice system is complex and imperfect but also an essential part of creating a well-functioning civil society. Police, prosecutors, investigators, defense lawyers, judges, and policymakers all play a role in shaping this system to ensure public safety and fair policing, examine the causes and ramifications of mass incarceration, assess criminal statutes, explore alternatives to traditional punishment, reduce recidivism, and provide opportunities for the formerly incarcerated to rebuild their lives.
How does criminal law help regulate individual and corporate behavior, protect the rights of victims’ and the accused, ensure fair trials, and determine appropriate punishment?
Columbia Law faculty approach criminal justice issues holistically, from a multitude of perspectives—historical, political, philosophical, sociological, and intersectional—and raise questions about race, class, and geography. Columbia Law students have opportunities to work directly with faculty on timely cases that advance reforms in areas such as cash bail, mass incarceration, sentencing, juvenile justice, and capital punishment as well as on research projects that use data analytics to study crime rates and policing methodologies.
Why Columbia?
Learn from full-time and adjunct faculty who are active prosecutors, defense attorneys, and sitting state and federal judges.
Collaborate with faculty on research for criminal appeals and on controversial policing practices.
Develop oral advocacy and other litigation skills in simulated cases in the Trial Practice simulation.
Experience the interplay between the law and its enforcement through externships with the district attorney’s offices in Brooklyn and Manhattan and federal prosecutors and judges.
Explore contemporary issues in the federal prosecution of white-collar crime—including mail fraud, extortion, and racketeering—with special attention to crimes committed within corporations and other large organizations.
Advocate for clients in numerous externships and clinics, arguing in state and federal courts on behalf of incarcerated individuals and helping draft amicus briefs in support of death-sentenced individuals in state court.
Produce A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison who want to represent themselves.