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In just its first full year of operation, the University of Missouri School of Law’s Criminal Practice Clinic is earning praise from students, judges and attorneys across the state for preparing graduates to hit the ground running in the courtroom.
Launched in the fall of 2024 as a replacement for the long-standing Innocence Clinic, the Criminal Practice Clinic (CPC) offers third-year law students a full-year, hands-on experience in criminal litigation, combining a rigorous classroom curriculum with real-world practice under Missouri’s Rule 13 certification.
Professor Chelseá R. Mitchell, director of the clinic and a former public defender, designed CPC to mirror the lifecycle of a criminal case and give students meaningful courtroom experience before graduation.
“This clinic was built to ensure students don’t just learn the theory of law, they live it,” Mitchell said. “By the time they graduate, our students have already stood before judges, argued motions, conducted trials and built relationships with practicing attorneys and judges.”
The CPC is currently the only year-long clinic at Mizzou Law. In the fall semester, students enroll in Missouri Criminal Practice, a course that uses a mock criminal case based on a real local crime. Students alternate roles as prosecutors and defense attorneys, arguing motions before real judges and questioning real police officers. Local prosecutors and public defenders mentor students through the process.
In the spring semester, students are placed by preference in either prosecution or public defense offices throughout mid-Missouri, where they appear in court as Rule 13-certified student attorneys. Professor Mitchell supervises the students in public defender offices while Professor Ryan Redmon, a former prosector himself, supervise the students in the prosecutors’ offices.
The clinic owes much of its success to the generous partnership of local prosecution and public defender offices, whose collaboration gives students unparalleled access to real-world practice and mentorship to complement their faculty-guided training.
The numbers speak to the experience: CPC students led 47 preliminary hearings, in addition to working on seven bench jury trials in spring 2025 alone.
For Class of 2025 graduate Christian Kinghorne, who will join the Missouri State Public Defender’s Columbia Trial Office, the CPC was crucial in shaping his future.
“I feel really good about going into the workforce now, more than I have at any point in law school,” he said. “The clinic built my confidence as a lawyer.”
The results are already tangible. Fifteen of the 16 students in the inaugural CPC class secured litigation-focused legal jobs before graduation. Eight students received offers with public defender offices, five will work as prosecutors, with placements from Boone County to the Bronx, New York. Others will join civil legal aid or small litigation firms.
Beyond job placements, the CPC has become a defining experience for many of its students.
“The best part of CPC was the blended approach to learning,” said Wolfgang Schaefer, who is joining the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. “By studying the life and law of a criminal case in Missouri, we had the tools and confidence to step into the courtroom on day one.”
Schaefer, like many CPC students, ran court dockets, handled pleas, argued motions and represented the state in trials.
Karen Crouch, who will join a private litigation firm, said her growth in courtroom confidence was profound.
“I started the clinic being nervous about public speaking,” she said. “By the time I was in front of a real judge, I felt ready to handle anything the court or opposing counsel threw at me. I would not be ready for the courtroom without CPC.”
Students also emphasized how the clinic fostered strong personal and professional relationships.
“After spending a full year with clinic mates, we’ve forged strong bonds,” said Cameron Shields, who is heading to the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office. “Thanks to CPC, I know I have a support network of great up-and-coming attorneys moving forward in my career.”
Shields recalls trying a full jury trial as lead prosecutor—while a fellow clinic student represented the defense: “That experience was exceptional. We are the only two students at the law school who can say we’ve had a jury trial before graduation.”
Zachary Mikuls, who will join the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, had a similarly memorable experience from the defense side.
“Winning my case at the end of the semester contributed so much to my personal growth,” Mikuls said. “During the trial, I let go of hesitations, acted on instinct, and gave a closing that I had to adjust on the fly. Getting an acquittal felt like I had really become an attorney.”
For Gabrielle Cone, who is joining the Cook County Public Defender’s Office in Illinois, mentorship played a key role.
“All the supervising attorneys I worked with were extremely willing to read, walk through, and advise me on every project,” Cone said. “Knowing I had this support gave me the confidence to take my ideas and run with them.”
Local judges and attorneys have taken notice of the clinic’s impact as well.
“I remember my first day as a prosecutor, realizing that while law school had prepared me for the Bar Exam, it had not equipped me for the actual practice of law,” one local judge said. “This clinic is an invaluable resource, giving these soon-to-be lawyers a significant advantage over their peers.”
That advantage is precisely what Mitchell envisioned when launching CPC.
“We want our students to graduate with the confidence and skills of a second-year attorney,” Mitchell said. “Whether they’re defending a client or prosecuting a case, they’re prepared to do the work—and do it well.”
As the clinic heads into its second year, it’s already reshaping the way Mizzou Law prepares its students for practice. And for those who’ve walked out of its courtroom doors, the experience is proving lasting.
“CPC prepared me for the kind of lawyer I want to be,” said Crouch. “Now I get to go out and be that lawyer, from day one.”
Mizzou Law thanks our 2025 and 2026 partner offices which help make the CPC successful.
Spring 2025 partner offices: MSPD Columbia & Fulton Trial Offices; Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Cole County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Spring 2026 partner offices: MSPD Columbia & Fulton Trial Offices; Audrain County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Cooper County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.