The First Amendment Clinic is training student journalists at universities across the state. Consistent with the clinic's mission to educate the public about free speech and press rights, the clinic provided media law training to the Cluster newspaper staff at Mercer University, Grady Newsource staff at UGA and communications department students and faculty at East Georgia State College. Third-year law student Anish Patel, second-year law student Davis M. Wright and First Amendment Clinic Legal Fellow Samantha Hamilton covered tops such as defamation, privacy, copyright fair use and access rights under Georgia's Open Meetings and Open Records Acts.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic recently won its argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the case McIlwain v. Burnside. The clinic's client filed five grievances after not receiving proper medical care for stab wounds, and the District Court claimed the client failed to exhaust his administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The Eleventh Circuit judges agreed that the District Court dismissed the case prematurely and instructed the District Court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the first grievance and make fact findings on the rest that respond to the client's exhaustion-related arguments. This ruling was featured on Bloomberg Law in the article titled "Georgia Prisoner's Indifference Complaints Revived On Appeal," which was authored by Porter Wells and published 10/9/20.
The School of Law regrets to announce former employee Karen "Kay" Hardeman (Bramlett) Kirk passed away October 2, 2020, at the age of 64. Kirk served as an administrative assistant at the law school and retired in June 2008. She will be missed by law school faculty, staff and students.
Thanks to a partnership with The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire, third-year law student Allison "Allie" Evans and second-year students Hiance M. Castro Guerrero and Marissa G. Hill have used their skills as registered neutrals to virtually mediate civil cases in the Savannah area. These Mediation Practicum students are approved mediators with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, and each is handling approximately one small claims case per week. Practicum supervisor Rob McNiff said some litigants find that virtual mediations are a more convenient way to resolve their disputes.
The University of Georgia has established the Chester C. Davenport Memorial Endowment Fund to support scholarships and fellowships in the School of Law in memory of the law school's first African American graduate, who passed away in early August. The fund will give priority to incoming students in the School of Law who have graduated from Georgia-based historically Black colleges and universities. Recipients also will be chosen for reflecting Davenport's legacy of academic excellence, courage, determination and a trailblazing spirit.