Field visits
Faculty of law
TRU Law’s location in Kamloops gives students direct access to courts, legal institutions, and community organizations that bring legal education to life. The field visits below connect classroom learning to the legal system as it operates in practice.
Cknúcwentn First Nations Court
Cknúcwentn First Nations Court is a sentencing court that sits monthly at the Kamloops Law Courts. It is a problem-solving court that takes a restorative justice approach to sentencing, with the involvement of the Cknúcwentn Elder Council, and is open to all those who claim Aboriginal ancestry as well as the general public. Each winter semester, the Indigenous Law Students Association coordinates a visit for interested TRU Law students. Students observe the court in session and learn how this process integrates Indigenous ways of knowing and being into the legal framework of sentencing.
Duty counsel shadowing
Students participating in the TRU Community Legal Clinic have the opportunity to shadow duty counsel at the Kamloops courthouse, observing how lawyers provide on-the-spot legal assistance to unrepresented accused. This experience offers a close-up view of criminal court in action and the practical demands of front-line legal practice.
Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre tours
TRU Law students have the opportunity to tour the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, organized through TRU Law’s Judge in Residence Chris Cleaveley. The tour offers students a first-hand look at the custodial side of the criminal justice system – a dimension of legal practice that is rarely visible from the classroom or the courtroom.
