ICDC's Mission
The Indigent Criminal Defense Clinic is dedicated to providing zealous representation for vulnerable and impoverished people accused of criminal conduct. Moreover, ICDC serves the greater community by working toward criminal justice reform measures that protect the innocent and by developing thoughtful preventative programs that address the roots of criminal conduct.
At ICDC, student attorneys not only learn how to try a case well; they learn to look beyond the accusations and see the humanity of their clients. ICDC’s philosophy is simple: in order to effectively represent the client, an attorney must care about the client’s plight. A zealous attorney invests the necessary time to understand the client’s story, investigate the case, and develop a legal strategy. An attorney’s ability to connect with the client and appreciate the client’s life story, without passing judgment, is what enables that lawyer to facilitate a connection between the client and the rest of the world.
ICDC both generates and requires dedicated law students willing to commit time, creativity, and passion to create a criminal justice system about which we all can feel proud.