Pepperdine Caruso Law Students Serve as Certified Law Clerks for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

Pepperdine Caruso Law students John Irwin and Gabrielle Mix were two of the six certified law clerks for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to serve this summer for the preliminary hearing unit in downtown Los Angeles. Irwin and Mix appeared on the record conducting preliminary hearings under the supervision of deputy district attorneys. Also serving were Caruso Law students Felicia Forman, who appeared on the record conducting preliminary hearings for the Los Angeles County District Attorney at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse, and Andre Gregoire, who was a certified clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Community Violence Reduction Division, who appeared on the record with the preliminary hearing unit in downtown Los Angeles. In addition, Caruso Law student MacKenzie Savage has recently joined the preliminary hearing unit in downtown Los Angeles for the fall semester.

Under the rules of the Office of Certification/Practical Training of Law Students (PTLS), the State Bar of California allows certain law students to make appearances in court under the supervision of a deputy district attorney, examining witnesses on the stand and presenting arguments to the judge.

Irwin credits criminal law Professor Harry Caldwell for Caruso Law's strong representation with preliminary hearings at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office this summer.  Irwin says, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Gabby, Felicia, Andre, MacKenzie, and I had all been students of Professor Caldwell together in our first year.  He is one of the best professors at Pepperdine and continues to have a huge impact on the criminal justice world, as he has for decades.”