A Community Health Law Partnership Clinic client was recently granted asylum. The clinic's client fled to the United States alone as a 16-year-old after facing death threats and physical violence in Guatemala, requesting asylum at the border. In 2022, the Community HeLP Clinic successfully argued that the Guatemalan government was unable or unwilling to control persecution against its client by private actors. As a result, the client no longer faces deportation. Staff Attorney Kristen Shepherd handled the initial presentation of the case before the Asylum Office. Navroz N. Tharani (J.D.'22) wrote the 2022 brief, supervised by Shepherd and Assoc. Dean & Clinic Director Jason A. Cade, while Eddy Atallah (J.D.'21) assisted with earlier research.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic recently achieved a partial win for its client from the Georgia Court of Appeals in the case Williams v. DeKalb County. The clinic’s client is challenging the county commission’s ability to give itself a pay increase and the commission’s compliance with the Open Meetings Act when passing the increase. In the ruling, the Court of Appeals remanded the Open Meetings Act claim but found that Williams did not have standing to challenge the pay increase.
The Jane W. Wilson Family Justice Clinic, which provides survivors of domestic violence with direct representation as well as legal and extra-legal support – is on pace to assist more individuals than ever before in a calendar year. Through June 30, the clinic has taken calls from 209 distinct individuals and has provided representation in 27 protective order cases and 20 other pieces of domestic relations litigation for survivors of domestic violence and stalking.
Congratulations to second-year students Jonah C. Griego, Kathleen M. “Kit” McGean and Copelenn C. McMahon who were selected for 2022 Justice John Paul Stevens Public Interest Fellowships. The fellowship program provides grants to enable law students at participating law schools to work in unpaid public interest summer law positions. Griego is working for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Washington, D.C.; McGean is working at the Western District of Texas Office of the Federal Public Defender in the Capital Habeas Unit located in Austin; and McMahon is working at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law in Washington, D.C.
Three law students served as Georgia Sea Grant Legal Fellows during the spring 2022 semester addressing legal and policy questions from Georgia coastal communities, regional organizations, state agencies and others relating to environmental, economic and social concerns affecting coastal Georgia. Recent graduates Sydney Brogden and Robert L. “Rob” Hillyer assisted with research and panel moderation regarding a regional salt marsh restoration initiative, while rising third-year student Scott A. Luis is continuing his work this summer with military adjacent communities and resilience.