OU Law 3L Matthew Acosta Works to Modify Defendant’s Sentence

Through OU Law’s Legal Clinics, students gain practical experience while providing legal services to those who might otherwise not be able to obtain representation.

Criminal Clinic student and 3L Matthew Acosta was recently involved with a project with the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office to amend the sentence of a defendant who was convicted of a felony charge right before the passage of State Questions 780 and 781, which changed the range of punishment for certain crimes. 

Acosta worked on the Joint Motion for Post-Conviction Relief and successfully argued to the judge for the modification of this defendant’s sentence, which resulted in her release from prison. Rebekah Taylor, assistant professor of clinical legal education at OU Law, served as the supervising attorney at the hearing.

In the 2017-2018 academic year, students in the OU Legal Clinic helped a revolving caseload of 178 cases, made 254 court appearances, and assisted 40 children with 25 guardian ad litem cases.