Supreme Court clinics make judges out of J.D.s-to-be

03/20/07

Supreme Court clinics make judges out of J.D.s-to-be

Stanford Law School's unique Supreme Court Litigation Clinic filed its inaugural petition with the Supreme Court, and now most law schools have similar clinics. The clinics' students work with faculty and Supreme Court litigators who help them write briefs in clinic settings for Supreme Court cases.

According to Law.com, these clinics maintained a strong presence on the Court's docket this February. The Court granted review in Watson v. United States, a criminal case involving the definition of firearm use for which participants in the University of Virginia clinic prepared a brief. Additionally, a petition was filed by Harvard's Supreme Court clinic in Hamdan v. Gates and Khadr v. Bush, Constitutional cases dealing with access to the courts for Guantanamo Bay detainees. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw partner Andrew Pincus argued in Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, which was briefed by Pincus and participants in Yale Law School's new clinic on church-state issues.

Thomas Goldstein of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld is the brains behind the Supreme Court clinical program. Goldstein, who is happy with the present trend, said that in time, the clinics will have a "genuine effect" on the work of the Court. The clinics add value to students by exposing them to the thrill of working on Supreme Court cases. They also provide practical training in meeting deadlines and writing clear, persuasive, and authoritative documents for a tough assembly line of experienced justices.

The second- and third-year students participating in the clinics often see their efforts impacting Supreme Court or appeals court cases and "get very psyched, very interested," said another instructor.

Demleitner to lead Hofstra School of Law
Hofstra University School of Law's Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, Nora V. Demleitner, has been appointed as the school's interim dean, effective immediately. Demleitner also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and is the first woman to lead Hofstra's law school. Michelle M. Wu takes over Demleitner's old post as the interim vice dean for academic affairs.

Stuart Rabinowitz, Hofstra's president, said Demleitner's skill and dedication will help the law school progress. An expert in sentencing law, Demleitner not only teaches but also has written widely on criminal, comparative, and immigration law. The managing editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, she also serves on the executive editorial board for the American Journal of Comparative Law. The search for a permanent dean has begun, school sources say.

Number of Mexican-American students in law school dwindling
Of the nation's attorneys, a meager 3.9% are Mexican-American. And these numbers are dwindling further as far as law school enrollment is concerned, despite the fact that considerable strides have been made by the Mexican-American population in the U.S.

The many reasons for the low numbers are interlinked, say academicians. These include poverty and consequently low graduation rates from high schools and colleges. Those who have conducted research on the issue accuse the American Bar Association (ABA) of using the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) as a means of favoring applicants from wealthier backgrounds, states ScrippsNews.com.

Elizabeth Chambliss, a New York Law School faculty member, blamed "the heavy reliance" of law schools on the LSAT for low Mexican-American enrollment at law schools. She supported her claim by citing the minority community's poor performance on the test and law schools' complete reliance on this existing aptitude yardstick. Tuition fees add to the burgeoning problem as well, she added. The best educational institutions have tuition rates ranging from $31,238 to $38,800 per year. The result is that only 6% of students enroll and become lawyers.

Debbie Hagan, in her book Against the Tide, states that "extravagant wages, working conditions and lifestyles for law professors, and demand [for] plush facilities and libraries" are some of the financial conditions that stand in the way of minority students' enrollment.

Yale Law School releases findings on views of nanotechnology
Yale Law School's Cultural Cognition Project has released the results of its study on the ways in which people evaluate risks and benefits of nanotechnology. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.

Nanotechnology is a field of applied science that studies, influences, and manufactures extremely small things usually measuring between one and 100 nanometers in size. About 1,800 people who were surveyed online revealed heightened emotions related to their perceptions of nanotechnology. The study aimed at identifying individual values and their relation to perceptions of nanotechnology.

Commenting on public attitudes regarding this topic, Dan M. Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor at Yale Law School, said people "polarize on the safety of nanotechnology on the same lines as debates on nuclear power, global warming, and other contentious environmental issues" based on their "gut feelings."

The Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies is an initiative that was launched by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and The Pew Charitable Trusts in 2005. It aims to aid businesses, the government, and the public with anticipating and managing possible health and environmental implications of nanotechnology. The Cultural Cognition Project at Yale Law School is run by an interdisciplinary team of experts from Yale, the University of Washington, George Washington University, and Decision Research (an independent, nonprofit research corporation) that uses survey data to explore how cultural orientation affects attitudes toward political issues.

Hart Research also conducted a similar poll earlier and came up with similar results. The findings of both polls reveal that Americans remain largely unaware of nanotechnology in spite of the fact that the government and industry invest $10 billion annually in nanotechnology research and development. More than $30 billion has been spent on products incorporating nanotechnology.

Liberty University completes mock "Supreme Courtroom"
Liberty University School of Law students will now have the opportunity to practice arguing cases before a model of the U.S. Supreme Court. The school's new teaching courtroom is a 4,395-square-foot replica of the nation's highest court and incurred expenses of more than $1 million.

Mathew D. Staver, the law school's dean, proposed the ambitious project, and the Supreme Court allowed school authorities to inspect its courtroom and bench to ensure an exact fit. The main differences between the law school's courtroom and the Supreme Court's courtroom are the numbers of seats available for spectators. The gallery of the law school's courtroom will have 330 theater-style seats, each equipped with a folding desktop and wired with electricity to run a laptop computer.

A few symbolic features, including the four columns behind the justices' bench, a dark burgundy backdrop, and a plaque with the Ten Commandments on the courtroom door, have been retained to remind students that they too will be able to argue cases before the Supreme Court someday.


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