Ronald Schafer

Adjunct Professor
Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane Rm 368
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300

  • Biography

    Ron Schafer has served as the Ionia County Prosecuting Attorney since January 1, 2005 and is currently in his third term as the Ionia County Prosecuting Attorney. He served as the chief assistant prosecutor of Ionia County prior to being elected as the Prosecuting Attorney. He has also served as an assistant prosecutor in both Ionia and Washtenaw counties.

    Professor Schafer served as the President of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan (PAAM) from 2010-2011 and currently serves as a member of the board of directors for PAAM. He also serves as a member of the Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) Policy Council on behalf of PAAM.

    Schafer was an appointee of Governor Snyder on the Indigent Defense Advisory Commission and currently serves as an appointee of Governor Snyder on the Mental Health Diversion Council.

    Schafer was the 2006 recipient of the Life Saver Award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) of Michigan and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. He received a Crime Fighter Award in 2011 from Fight Crime: Invest in Kids of Michigan.

    Schafer earned B.A. from Michigan State University, James Madison College and a J.D. from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University.

  • Courses

    Trial Practice Institute-Trial II
    (Formerly DCL 542 and DCL 565, Formerly Trial Practice Institute-Trial IIA and Trial Practice Institute-Trial IIB ) Must be in the Trial Practice Institute program. This course caps the trial training program at Michigan State University-DCL College of Law. The purpose of the course is to provide graduating seniors with the opportunity to use the skills and education they have received to handle a complete criminal case, from their initial interview with the client (or making the charging decision based upon a law enforcement investigation and request for warrant). This program is unique in that the defendant, law enforcement witnesses, civilian witnesses, and expert witnesses will be students from the Michigan State University, Department of Theatre. The expert witnesses will be students from the Michigan State University Medical School. The objective for all students involved is to have hands on experience related to their particular college and curriculum at Michigan State University. Law students will have an opportunity to take a criminal case from start to finish, investigating the facts of the case, preparing for all aspects of the case through the development of the theory of the case, interviewing witnesses, conducting the preliminary examination, motion practice and culminating with the trial itself. The goal is to provide an opportunity to put into practice what students have learned over their law school career at MSU College of Law. Must be in the Trial Practice Institute program. Because certain non-TPI courses duplicate the content of this course, students may not also receive academic credit for the following courses: Applied Evidence, Civil Trial Advocacy I, Civil Trial Advocacy II, Client Counseling and Interviewing, Criminal Trial Advocacy I - Pre-Trial, Criminal Trial Advocacy II - Trial II.