Students who extern in prosecutor offices during their third year of law school, also enroll in the Prosecution Function class. The class is designed to complement their educational experiences as prosecutorial externs. It does so by providing a classroom setting where the students can discuss and explore real-life issues from their practical experience in an academic setting, as well as by exploring the history and current role of the American Prosecutor. The class examines the theory and practical role of a prosecutor, including the areas of substantive and procedural law that a prosecutor should be familiar with. Although the course focuses on Mississippi law, the concepts discussed are pertinent to a student externing in a prosecutor’s office anywhere in the country. In addition to the substantive and procedural areas, the course also places a great emphasis on the unique ethical and professional duties of a prosecutor. The goal of the class is to provide a student placed as a prosecutorial externship a working knowledge of the unique role of the American Prosecutor, while also providing a place where students placed as prosecutorial externs can further explore their experiences as prosecutorial externs.

The course is a co-requisite for students placed as prosecutorial externs in the fall and spring semesters, and a pre-requisite for students placed as prosecutorial externs in the summer term. Students earn three academic credit hours for the class and are graded on a regular ABC grading scale. These hours are separate and apart from any academic hours earned as part of their externship placement. A thirty-page term paper is required. The course is taught by Clinical Professor Hans P. Sinha. Click here for the Spring 2006 syllabus.