Loyola Law School's downtown campus is minutes from the state and federal criminal courts of Los Angeles, the offices of prosecutors and public defenders, and some of the country's leading criminal defense firms. The Criminal Justice specialization gives LLM students a rigorous grounding in American criminal law and the chance to study it in the city where it is practiced every day.
You begin with the foundations in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. You then build on them with electives that match your goals, from trial-focused courses such as Pre-Trial Criminal Litigation to White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice, Wrongful Convictions, and International Protection of Human Rights. You learn from faculty who include former prosecutors, defense attorneys, and nationally recognized scholars whose work shapes criminal justice policy.
Loyola is also home to an exceptional group of criminal justice clinics. The Loyola Project for the Innocent works to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted. The Juvenile Innocence and Fair Sentencing Clinic litigates resentencing, innocence, and parole matters for people convicted as juveniles. The Juvenile Justice Clinic represents children in Los Angeles delinquency court. The Collateral Consequences of Conviction Justice Project helps formerly incarcerated people overcome the legal barriers they face after release. The Loyola Justice for Atrocities Clinic works with NGOs, prosecutors, and tribunals to pursue accountability for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Many of these clinics welcome LLM students.
This specialization is a strong fit if you plan to practice criminal law, if you work as a prosecutor, defense lawyer, or judge in your home country, or if you are interested in international criminal law, compliance, or justice reform. You graduate with a deep understanding of how the American criminal justice system works and the skills to engage with it as an advocate.