•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Robert Rader's Confessions of Guilt: A Clinical Student's Reflections on Representing Indigent Criminal Defendants, maddening as it is, makes a number of contributions to our understanding of the goals of clinical legal education and our efforts to bring those goals to fruition. His cri de coeur is a cautionary tale for those of us who both toil in the clinical vineyards of the lower courts and attempt to talk and write about the meaning of intense clinical experiences. While Rader's clinical vision is flawed and inevitably partial, and his clinical voice too often whiny and self-indulgent, we ignore his warnings about our goals and methods at our peril. In this brief essay, I wish to identify some of these warnings, both explicit and implicit, while at the same time suggesting some of the ways in which Rader's observations and conclusions are distorted and ultimately unavailing. Before examining the particulars of Rader's lament, however, we should note the importance of hearing from our clinical students in forums such as this journal. While many of our current discussions about clinical scholarship decry the absence (or appropriation) of client voice in clinical scholarship, students may be even more invisible in our writing and at our conferences. Even when clinical articles describe representation by clinical programs, the precise role and contribution of students may be unclear. And while law reviews contain occasional articles by clinical students, these articles are likely to be more about substantive issues and lawyering efforts than the affective side of the clinical experience rendered by Rader.

Publication Title

Clinical Law Review

Volume

1

Issue

3

First Page

711

Download

Share

COinS