Criminal Law Externship

The Criminal Law Externship provides an opportunity for selected second-year and third-year students to receive 1-3 hours of academic credit for their work at various prosecutor and public defender offices in south central Indiana.

The course is graded on a pass/fail basis. In order to pass , a student must:

1) Perform 52 hours of work per credit hour (i.e., 52, 104, or 156 hours for 1, 2, or 3 credits, respectively);

2) Maintain a time/activity log tracking hours worked and work activities;

3) Submit short (2-3 page) reflective essays on a scheduled basis regarding their externship experience;

4) Participate in two one-on-one meetings with Professor Farnsworth during the semester (one at the beginning and one at the end);

Prerequisites: Students must be eligible for certification as a #student legal intern# per Indiana Supreme Court Admission and Discipline Rule 2.1 (requiring completion of ½ of the hours required for graduation and enrollment in or completion of #The Legal Profession# course). Information regarding certified legal interns and the application is available at: (link)

Permission to register: Enrollment is limited and participation may be restricted to one semester. Students must obtain faculty permission to register for the class, the first step of which is completing the externship registration permission form on CareerNet.

Participating Offices: In the past, students have completed externships with the Bartholomew County Prosecutor, Brown County Prosecutor, Hamilton County Prosecutor, Greene County Prosecutor, Johnson County Prosecutor, Lawrence County Prosecutor, Marion County Prosecutor, Monroe County Prosecutor, Morgan County Prosecutor, Owen County Prosecutor, Lawrence County Public Defender, Marion County Public Defender Agency, Monroe County Public Defender, and other prosecutor and public defender offices. Some of these offices post regularly with CSO; for others, CSO can provide contact information for submission of applications.

Please note: Ordinarily, no student may enroll in a field placement concurrently with a law clinic. Rare exceptions may be made by Dean Orenstein.