UMass Law Criminal Law Society

We are so excited to announce this year’s Public Defender Panel!! ⚖️🥳

Will you be stopping by??

Come join us for our first general body meeting of 2024! All are welcome.

**UPDATED TIME**

6 days until our annual Prosecutors Panel!!⚖️⚖️

UMASS Law’s Student Organization Fair behind September 20th, 2023! Come and sign up for Criminal Law Society! The Fair will be held from 12-6PM. All are welcome to join!

Register by August 8th!

🎉VOTING IS LIVE!!🎉

🚨EXTENSION🚨Our election application period has been extended to 4/16 and our voting period has shifted to 4/17-4/23

Exciting event coming up!! Please join CLS and to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright by listening to state and federal public defenders talk about their meaningful careers. Professor Farber will be moderating. Please DM us with any questions. Good luck on midterms!

Welcome back Y’all! Please join us on 1/25 at 5pm for our first meeting of the semester!! Also, check your emails for more updates on what we have going on this semester!

Join us next week for this amazing presentation about the Massachusetts Bar Advocate Program with Erica Cushna!! We will be updating the location of the event soon!

Michael McMurtry is a 2L PILF student. He is from Northen California. He is currently a 2L Senator on SBA and a Senator for the Graduate Student Senate, which is the legislative body that deals with all Graduate Student Affairs. This past summer he interned at the Monterey County Public Defender’s Office, which is in his hometown. Michael hopes to become a Criminal Public Defender in either Massachusetts or California. In his free time he loves to workout, watch too much tv, and spend time with his cat, Henry.

Philip Light is a 3L full time student from Miami, Florida. Philip graduated from University of Florida and instantly started law school. During law school he worked one summer at a law firm focusing on the defense base act, and the next as a intern for the Bristol County’s District Attorney’s office. He even extended his internship at the DAs for this upcoming year. Philip hopes to either continue working in the Criminal field after graduation or work in the corporate/real estate field. Outside of school you can catch Philip either at the pool, or hitting the slopes.

Garrison is a 3L PILF student from Fort Pierce, FL. He graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Criminology and a minor in Law & Society. As for legal experience, he worked as a victim advocate with the state attorney’s office of the 19th judicial circuit before law school. This past summer he interned with a solo practitioner who is a criminal defense attorney out of New Bedford (Nicholas Sylvia), and is currently a judicial intern with the Taunton Family & Probate Court. He is currently the Dean of DTP and the President of LAASE. Outside of school, Garrison spends his time going to the beach, reading, and camping with friends.

Kajahna (KJ) is a 3L PILF law student who plans to be a criminal defense attorney upon graduation. She has interned for numerous organizations, such as the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Justice Bridge, the District Attorney’s Office and much more. Kajahna is the Vice President of CLS and the Secretary for LALSA. In her free time, she loves traveling and spending time with her fur baby, Koda!

Yessenia Acosta Terrazas is a 3L PILF student from Yuma, Arizona. Yessenia graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Justice Studies and Political Science. Yessenia has interned at the Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office in Arizona and the Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinic. Here at UMass Law, Yessenia is the Bailiff for Delta Theta Phi and the President of the Latin American Law Student Association. Outside of school, she can be found visiting new restaurants, reading, and spending time with her fur baby, Belle.

Thank you to the current E-Board for a very successful year! Best of luck to our President Maggie Henry, Vice-President Brian Sanger, Secretary Kara Kocurek, Treasurer Rachel Lewis Schepart and all graduating CLS Members!

Congratulations to next year’s Board!🎉

Elections are now LIVE! If you want to run for the Criminal Law Society’s Executive Board, make sure to send a statement of interest by April 11th at 5 PM to [email protected] to be considered. The following positions are open: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Social Media/Marketing Coordinator. If you have any questions feel free to DM us or email [email protected]!

Join CLS this Wednesday April 6th at 12 PM for our last General Body Meeting of the semester. We will be discussing our Public Defender Panel and elections! Hope to see you all there!

Join the Criminal Law Society on Thursday April 14th at 7 PM to learn all about the important work of public defenders! This event is PILF-Approved. The zoom link will be shared through email closer to the date! Hope to see everyone there!

Hello everyone!

Please join the Criminal Law Society this upcoming Tuesday March 15 at 7 PM EST for A Panel and Discussion with Formerly Incarcerated Individuals. The panel will be broadcasted in the Moot Courtroom, but a Zoom link will also be distributed through email if you can’t make it in person. This event is PILF Approved!

Hope to see you all there!

Hello CLS Members!

I hope your semester has been going great so far! I would like to invite you all to join the Criminal Law Society for a General Body Meeting next Wednesday February 23rd at 12 PM in Room 116.

Hope to see you all there!

WELCOME BACK!! CLS is here to wish you a great Spring semester! Stay tuned to find out about future events✨

Hello UMass Law Criminal Law Society Members!

Our Prosecutor Panel be held on Monday, November 1st at 6pm in the Moot Courtroom.

This will be a panel discussion from prosecutors who work in various locations of the Bristol County DA's Office and the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office. Our panelists will discuss their careers, how they got there, and provide valuable information for students pursuing this career path.

We will be serving food, so get there early to grab some dinner! By attending, you will also automatically receive Lexis points and be entered to win a gift card. Mark your calendars for this PILF-Approved event!

Meet your 2021-2022 CLS Executive Board!

Maggie Henry is a 3L and PILF student who hails from Belmont, Massachusetts. After graduating from UMass Amherst, she worked in a few different careers before landing with the federal judiciary and being inspired to go to law school. Also President of the National Lawyers Guild, Maggie is interested in ending mass incarceration and has had two public defender internships. For fun she loves reading, traveling, and spending time with her canine child, Cannoli.

Meet your 2021-2022 CLS Executive Board!

Brian is from Denver, CO. Prior to starting at UMass Law in the Fall of 2019, Brian worked in financial services for several years. He left that industry to pursue a more meaningful career in law, something that he had considered since a teenager. Brian graduated with a B.S. from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2008 and an M.B.A from the University of Colorado Denver in 2013. He hopes to pursue a career in defense or policy after law school. He completed an internship with the state office of the Colorado Office of the Public Defender during the summer after his 1L year, the Governors Office of Legal Counsel in Colorado during this summer, and is currently completing a field placement internship n the Rhode Island Office of the Public Defender in Warwick, RI. His interests in criminal law include working to reduce mass incarceration and utilizing and expanding problem solving courts to treat individuals who suffer from drug and alcohol dependence and have entered the judicial system as a result. His hobbies include running, skiing, reading, history podcasts, and exploring new places.

Meet your 2021-2022 CLS Executive Board!

Rachel Lewis Schepart is a native of Buffalo, NY, and a graduate of SUNY Brockport with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies following a Business Track. Prior to law school she worked for a non-profit organization as a paralegal. During law school she has worked with a criminal defense attorney and is currently working with the Bristol County District Attorney’s office which she hopes to continue after graduation. Here at UMass Law, Rachel is the treasurer of the Criminal Law Society, and both a Lexis and Themis Representative. Outside of school, she can usually be found on the beach or spending time with her dog and family.

Meet your 2021-2022 CLS Executive Board!

Kara Kocurek is a 3L from South Texas and a graduate of Salem University with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice: specializing in CSI. She hopes to be recruited into Federal Law Enforcement after graduation. She is also interested in Criminal Prosecution. Outside of school, she can usually be found visiting new bars, sleeping, or thrift shopping.