Criminal Law Research Center
About the Center
Established in 1981 as a division of West Virginia Public Defender Services, the Criminal Law Research Center (CLRC) serves as a statewide resource for West Virginia’s indigent defense community. The CLRC provides public defender corporations and court-appointed counsel throughout the state with legal research and analysis, case consultation and litigation support, training, and practice resources to strengthen indigent defense practice across West Virginia.
For up-to-date information about seminars and training sessions, view our Seminar Schedule.
To submit a request to the Criminal Law Research Center, submit a CLRC Support Request here.
How the Center Can Help You
- Legal Research
- Research assistance for questions involving criminal law and procedure, including case law, statutes, rules, and emerging legal issues.
- Case Consultation & Litigation Support
- Consultation on case-specific legal and strategic issues, including pretrial motions, evidentiary questions, sentencing, preservation of error, and appellate matters. The Center can also serve as a sounding board for attorneys working through novel, complex, or developing legal issues.
- Practice Resources
- Access to defender practice materials, including sample motions and pleadings, jury instructions, practice guides, mitigation resources, and other tools developed or collected for West Virginia indigent defense practitioners.
- Training & Continuing Education
- Statewide CLE programs, seminars, and other training opportunities addressing developments in criminal law and procedure, litigation skills, and emerging issues affecting indigent defense practice.
- View our Seminar Schedule to explore upcoming seminars and trainings.
- Moot Court
- Attorneys may use the CLRC Support Request to request a moot court practice for an upcoming oral argument. Moot court sessions are primarily conducted with attorneys from the PDS Appellate Division and provide an opportunity for attorneys to test their arguments, prepare for questions from the court, and receive feedback from experienced appellate attorneys before oral argument.
Request CLRC Assistance
West Virginia indigent defense attorneys may submit a request to the Criminal Law Research Center for legal research, case consultation, or other case-related support. When submitting a request, please provide information about the legal issue, relevant case background, and any applicable deadlines to help CLRC staff respond to the request efficiently. If you are unsure whether your request falls within one of the categories above, submit a request and CLRC staff can help identify the appropriate resource or assistance.