I & II
This clinic is designed to train students to be appellate litigators. It is a year-long clinic. Credit for the first semester generally requires participation in the second semester. It is open only to third year law students. Students will get three credits for each semester, and the class will meet for one two-hour seminar per week. The first semester will be pass/fail, and the second semester will have the traditional grading system. The clinic will essentially operate as a small firm and will accept clients with cases before both federal circuit courts of appeals and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Students will work in teams of two or three to review the record of the case, identify the issues that should be raised in the appeal, draft the briefs (both opening brief and reply brief), and do the oral argument if permitted and if oral argument is scheduled. This clinic will require a significant time commitment, particularly around the time that briefs are due and oral arguments are scheduled. Briefing schedules for the different teams will vary. The subject matter of the cases before the Courts of Appeals will vary. Obviously, the cases before the Board of Immigration Appeals will be immigration cases (primarily appeals of deportation orders). Enrollment in the clinic is by application only.
Summer
This course picks up where the Appellate Litigation Clinic II leaves off in the spring semester. Students will draft petitions for certiorari in cases where the Circuit Courts of Appeals have denied our clients relief, prepare clemency petitions to the Office of the United States Pardon Attorney when appropriate, and write merits briefs to the Circuit Courts of Appeals and Board of Immigration Appeals for any cases still pending at the appellate court level during the summer term. Overall, the course will teach students the intricacies of appellate practice, including how to write persuasively, how to communicate with clients, and how to learn and follow the applicable procedural rules.