Where is the best college for being a Criminal Defense Lawyer?

Hi Amariah,

• Stanford University in California

Stanford hosts the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and the Stanford Three Strikes Project, the only one of its kind in the nation.
During the second and third years of study, students interested in criminal law can take coursework at the Stanford Criminal Justice Center in adjudication, investigation, juvenile crime, sentencing and correction, mass incarceration and white collar crime. Law students can practice their legal skills at the Mills Legal Clinic at Stanford, which offers students eleven clinics on select areas of law. These include clinics on criminal prosecution, immigrant rights, life-sentenced criminals and Supreme Court litigation.

• Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard Law's Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) is one of seven study programs that law students can follow. CJI courses cover litigation, policy making and research, sociology of crime and punishment, public policy and criminal justice reform in global contexts. Third-year students can participate in clinical education, where they handle real-life cases under the supervision of law professors. As part of these clinics, CJI students go into local courts and represent adults and juveniles accused of crimes, including misdemeanors and felonies. Criminal justice-related law clinics at Harvard include those in criminal prosecution, death penalty, war crimes prosecution and government lawyer as prosecutor.

The list with the other top 9 schools in Law Defense, you can read in:

http://study.com/articles/Best_Criminal_Law_Programs_List_of_Top_Schools.html

Best Regards!

Hi Amariah.
I agree with the previous answer but suggest that you also explore other schools, many of which have fine traditions and programs in criminal justice. More generally, I would not limit myself only to schools with the best criminal justice programs. You can become an excellent criminal lawyer no matter where you study. I suggest that you attend the best school that you can get into that you can afford. It is important to understand what "afford" means. If you have to borrow money to attend, consider how many years you are willing to sacrifice to pay off your loans at an average starting criminal attorney's salary. If you get grant money, obviously that's not a problem.