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Samantha
Student
Hopewell, Virginia
12
Questions
Asked
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What are some good college courses to take during High school for someone that wants to be a criminal lawyer?
I'm in 9th grade and really looking into my future and I want to make sure I take classes that are useful for me to be a criminal lawyer
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1 answer
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1750
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Samantha,
I don't know what college courses are available to you during high school.
As to criminal law, it can lead you in many different directions. For example, white collar crime/embezzlement - Accounting is a good place to start.
DWI/manslaughter you might need to understand if the accident would have happened anyway, even if the driver had been sober - stopping distances of cars, brakes, road conditions, light, weather, reaction time - math and science. Depending on many things, you might not always be able to hire an expert to testify. At the very least, you need to know how to decide when you need to consider hiring an expert.
Criminal Law in general - understanding the penal code, the limitations of eyewitness testimony - whatever criminal law/justice classes are available.
The inequalities of our criminal justice system and how incarceration might serve to perpetuate the criminal justice problems - classes in Sociology.
Analytical thinking: debate, logic, math - algebra and geometry
Writing. learning to write concisely. Law has their own way of writing, which you will learn in law school. However, courts have limits on how long documents can be. You need to be able to write clearly and concisely, and that's never too early to start working on.
Try to be well-rounded, with some classes in the Arts and Humanities as well. It is not uncommon for attorneys to incorporate references to such things in their writings. For example, the phrase, "we are opening a Pandora's Box," comes from Greek mythology.
Hope this helps!
Please remember to have some fun along the way. Once you get to law school, it's pretty intense - don't let youth pass you by as you prepare for further academic studies!
Kim
I don't know what college courses are available to you during high school.
As to criminal law, it can lead you in many different directions. For example, white collar crime/embezzlement - Accounting is a good place to start.
DWI/manslaughter you might need to understand if the accident would have happened anyway, even if the driver had been sober - stopping distances of cars, brakes, road conditions, light, weather, reaction time - math and science. Depending on many things, you might not always be able to hire an expert to testify. At the very least, you need to know how to decide when you need to consider hiring an expert.
Criminal Law in general - understanding the penal code, the limitations of eyewitness testimony - whatever criminal law/justice classes are available.
The inequalities of our criminal justice system and how incarceration might serve to perpetuate the criminal justice problems - classes in Sociology.
Analytical thinking: debate, logic, math - algebra and geometry
Writing. learning to write concisely. Law has their own way of writing, which you will learn in law school. However, courts have limits on how long documents can be. You need to be able to write clearly and concisely, and that's never too early to start working on.
Try to be well-rounded, with some classes in the Arts and Humanities as well. It is not uncommon for attorneys to incorporate references to such things in their writings. For example, the phrase, "we are opening a Pandora's Box," comes from Greek mythology.
Hope this helps!
Please remember to have some fun along the way. Once you get to law school, it's pretty intense - don't let youth pass you by as you prepare for further academic studies!
Kim