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The Criminal Defense Clinic, which is run through Syracuse University’s College of Law, helps students gain practical experience in the courtroom and hone their craft.

The CDC represents low-income individuals pro-bono throughout Onondaga County, working mainly on civil matters such as shoplifting, vandalism and traffic violations. Students involved in the clinic said the experience has made them realize the impact of their work.

After working for a lawyer in her hometown in California, third-year law student Gabi Gonzalez was inspired to become a criminal defense lawyer and join the CDC. Through her work, she has handled cases as a personal injury lawyer, recovering money for clients who were injured in car accidents.

“(The lawyer Gonzalez previously worked for) primarily provided services to low-income Latinos,” she said. “I was inspired to go to law school so that I could also one day provide quality and affordable legal services to my community.”

Students in the program, who are always under faculty supervision, learn how to negotiate plea agreements, conduct legal research and analyze the criminal justice system as a whole, according to the CDC’s website.

Members of the clinic typically discuss their cases with Gary Pieples, the director of the CDC and a teaching professor at SU. They then travel to one of several courts to meet with their clients prior to appearing before the judge.

“Professor Pieples let us handle 90% of the case and if there’s anything we missed while speaking to the judge, he makes sure to follow up on those issues,” Gonzalez said.

The CDC helped one client who had multiple traffic violations, including several misdemeanors, go through much of their driving record and resolve the tickets, Pieples said. Members of the clinic helped the client save hundreds of dollars and clean up their driver’s license to be in good standing, he said.

Another client at the clinic was charged with alleged possession of an illegal knife with brass knuckles. On the night of trial, they convinced the court to dismiss the case due to a discovery violation by the police. The case is currently on appeal, Pieples said.

“It’s not exciting work,” Pieples said, “But it’s helpful for the people of central New York.”

Madelyn Cittadino, another member of the clinic and Gonzalez’s court partner, said the CDC was one of the reasons she applied to Syracuse for law school.

“I knew going into law school that I wanted to be a criminal defense attorney,” said Cittadino, who is in her second year. “The ability to get hands-on experience while still in law school was very appealing to me.”

Pieples began his career helping less fortunate individuals as a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati. He then ran the Securities, Arbitration and Consumer Clinic at the College of Law for more than a dozen years before agreeing to run the CDC when it was in need of a new director.

The clinic aims to provide hands-on experience to future criminal justice lawyers, while simultaneously serving the Syracuse community without the expenses other law offices charge.

“The Criminal Defense Clinic is set up in a way where there is a good balance between (member’s) caseload and class work,” Gonzalez said.

Being a student attorney has given Cittadino experience that has helped her be more prepared for her future work. While being cold called in class is hard, she said it helps prepare for being a lawyer in the courtroom.

“When a question is asked (by a judge), you better know the answer,” she said.

Published on October 2, 2022 at 11:54 pm

Contact Zach: zpinfeld@syr.edu