Clinic: Supreme Court

• Semester: Fall 2020
• Course ID: 697C
• Credit Hours: 6
• Unique: 28385

Description

This course will be taught entirely online via Zoom.

SUPREME COURT CLINIC IS A 6-HR. 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 almost any substantive area of law. Clinic cases most often involve federal statutory issues, but some will raise constitutional issues. As part of their clinic work, students will participate in identifying potential cases for the clinic to handle. Students will evaluate their clients' substantive positions, research the relevant issues, participate in strategic planning, and help 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 includes some traditional classroom sessions to introduce students to Supreme Court procedures and the strategic considerations relevant in Supreme Court practice. In addition to selecting the Clinic during Early Registration, students must fill out a short application.