Criminal Law
Self-Guided Professional Development Plan
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Development Units
Development Units
expand allUnit 1 expandOverview of Criminal Practice in the Massachusetts Courts
Buy Unit New LawyerLast updated 04/21/2023
Unit 2 expandThe Charging Process
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Unit 3 expandDeveloping the Theory of the Case and Other Strategies
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Unit 4 expandCommon Defenses
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Unit 5 expandEthics in Criminal Law Practice
Buy Unit New LawyerLast updated 10/14/2021
Unit 6 expandClient and Witnesses
Buy Unit New LawyerLast updated 10/18/2023
Unit 7 expandArraignment and Bail
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Unit 8 expandDetention Hearings
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Unit 9 expandMental Health Considerations
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Unit 10 expandSearch and Seizure
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Unit 11 expandDiscovery Practice
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Unit 12 expandSpecial Problems in the Disclosure and Use of Privileged Information
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Unit 13 expandPretrial Preparation
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Unit 14 expandPretrial Conferences and Hearings
Buy Unit New LawyerLast updated 06/23/2022
Unit 15 expandMotion Practice
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Unit 16 expandPlea Bargaining
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Unit 17 expandInterlocutory Appeals
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Unit 18 expandThe Media, the Open Courtroom and High-Profile Cases
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Unit 19 expandUse of Experts & Forensic Evidence
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Unit 20 expandImpaneling the Jury
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Unit 21 expandTrial Practice Techniques
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Unit 22 expandSelected Evidentiary Issues
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Unit 23 expandSpecific Issues with Respect to Children
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Unit 24 expandRule 25 Motions and Charging the Jury
Buy Unit New LawyerLast updated 07/20/2023
Unit 25 expandThe Verdict
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Unit 26 expandSentencing
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Unit 27 expandPost-Conviction Concerns
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Unit 28 expandCollateral Consequences
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Unit 29 expandCivil Forfeiture
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Unit 30 expandElements of Common Crimes
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Unit 31 expandMotor Vehicle Offenses
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Unit 32 expandChapter 209A Restraining Orders
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Unit 33 expandDrug Crimes
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Unit 34 expandSex Offenses
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Unit 35 expandHomicide
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Unit 36 expandJuvenile Law
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About this Plan
About this Plan
This professional development plan takes you step by step through the most essential elements of criminal law practice.
How to Use the Plan
Click on a unit to identify relevant online resources that have been selected from MCLE’s collection of programs and publications. Then click on any link to
- view a recommended program or specific lecture,
- read a relevant chapter,
- select a sample form, or
- choose a training module with a practical demonstration by MCLE's highly experienced faculty.
The resources identified represent only a small portion of what is available on MCLE’s website. To see what else is available on any given topic, click the “See All MCLE Resources” link at the bottom of each unit to conduct a search for other full programs, individual lectures, chapters and forms.
Ongoing Updates and Additions
We continue to work on this plan and are adding dynamic content to each of these topics on a regular basis, including new programs and lectures, information from our books, and demonstrations. Keep checking back for updates and new material. We also look forward to your suggestions on how we can make this plan the most effective tool for your professional development and training needs.
Other Available Resources
In addition to the resources available through the professional development plan, MCLE offers in-person programming for developing core competencies and providing opportunities to engage with the criminal law practice community. MCLE’s annual Criminal Law Conference and Juvenile Delinquency & Child Welfare Conference, provide cutting-edge analyses of the latest practice developments and opportunities to share ideas with attorneys in similar practices from around the state. If you are building a criminal law practice, be sure to attend MCLE’s Trial Advocacy Workshop offered every summer for an intensive week-long, hands-on bootcamp to help you hone your skills and learn the techniques needed to advocate for your clients.
Note to Firm Training Directors and Law School Librarians & Clinical Program Directors
MCLE’s professional development plans have been designed to complement in-house training and law school educational programs. Firms can tailor plans to the specific needs of their training programs—taking associates unit by unit through an entire practice area plan or targeting only the areas of greatest relevance. Law school faculty and clinical program directors can use professional development plans to identify lectures, demonstrations, articles and forms for use in the classroom, as a supplement to classroom presentations, or to support the student’s representation of clients in the school’s clinical program. If your firm or law school subscribes to the MCLE OnlinePass®, all the electronic resources included in MCLE’s professional development plans are instantly accessible to everyone in your firm or school.
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Use Note
Use Note
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