Students will research how to deploy legal strategies to seek relief for the scores of Black people and others harmed by narcotic-related convictions, focusing on laws that provide opportunities for expungement, clemency, and other post-conviction remedies that have the potential to help address the racialized impact of the War on Drugs. Students will work alone or in pairs to conduct research on the relevant laws of one state or federal circuit court of appeals. Students will work with the Mithoff Program Director and lawyers with Law For Black Lives and the People’s Law Firm, and will have opportunities to participate in educational activities as part of Law For Black Lives’ nationwide clinical cohort.
Organization
Law For Black Lives
Law For Black Lives is a Black femme-led national network of nearly 4,000 radical lawyers and legal workers committed to building a responsive legal infrastructure for movement organizations and cultivating a community of legal advocates trained in movement lawyering. The Drug Conviction Relief Research Project is a collaboration between L4BL, the People’s Law Firm, and the Mithoff Program.
Project Details
- Website
- http://www.law4blacklives.org
- Project Start Date
September 2020
- Approximate hours of work requested
- Approximately 25 hours total over the course of the semester; students will turn in research drafts on September 28 (outline), October 19 (1st draft), and November 30 (2nd draft)
- Training
- TBD based on student volunteer availability; additional training will be provided on an ongoing basis and students also will have access to materials included in L4BL’s decriminalization curriculum
- Skills used
- Legal research/writing
- Project location
- Students will work with L4BL’s supervising attorney via online collaboration
- Number of student volunteers requested
- 8
- Class year preference
- 1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
- Required skills
- Strong research and writing skills required; students with an interest in movement lawyering and/or criminal legal reform are strongly encouraged to apply
- To Apply
- Submit email with the subject line “L4BL volunteer interest” to Sarah Sedgwick at ssedgwick@law.utexas.edu