This clinic provides students the opportunity to work on cases pending before the United States Supreme Court. Students will be assigned to represent actual clients that are before the Court as petitioners (those seeking review of adverse lower court decisions), respondents (those defending favorable lower court decisions), or amici curiae (those participating in other parties' cases because their interests could be affected by the Court's decision). Cases may be at either the certiorari or the merits stage and may be in any substantive area of law.
Students will evaluate their clients' substantive positions, research the relevant issues, participate in strategic planning, and draft the briefs or other documents to be filed with the Court. Students will work closely with other students, and under the supervision of experienced members of the Supreme Court bar (who will assume final responsibility for all documents filed with the Court).
The clinic regularly handles cases at all stages in the Supreme Court litigation process, and students will work on cases in which the clinic represent petitioners at the certiorari stage (either as petitioners or respondents), the merits stage, or both. Clinic cases most often involve federal statutory issues, but some will raise constitutional issues as well. As part of their clinic work, students will participate in identifying potential cases for the clinic to handle.
The clinic includes some traditional classroom sessions to introduce students to Supreme Court procedures and the strategic considerations relevant in Supreme Court practice.
Enrollment is limited to upper division students. Admission is by application only. Applications are available from Becky Williams in the Student Affairs Office.
Sturley, Michael F. 
Blais, Lynn E. 
Frederick, David C.