Appellate Litigation Clinic participant and third-year student Madison "Maddie" Conkel argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in the case Denis Aguilera Fernandez, Petitioner v. U.S. Attorney General. The clinic's client was detained and beaten by Cuban police 7-10 times over the course of two years to prevent him from protesting the Cuban government. The issues in the case were: what is the appropriate standard of review for past persecution rulings, did the clinic's client show past persecution, and does the client have a reasonable fear of future persecution.