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Building A Culture Of Scholarship With New Clinical Teachers By Writing About Social Justice Lawyering, Susan Bennett, Binny Miller, Michelle Assad, Maria Dooner, Mariam Hinds, Jessica Millward, Citlalli Ochoa, Charles Ross, Anne Schaufele, Caroline Wick

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

This Article is a collection of essays about teaching social justice lawyering, as seen through the eyes of eight practitioners-in-residence in the clinical program at American University’s Washington College of Law (“WCL”). They include: Michelle Assad, Maria Dooner, Mariam Hinds, Jessica Millward, Citlalli Ochoa, Charles Ross, Anne Schaufele, and Caroline Wick. They teach in seven clinics, including the Civil Advocacy Clinic, the Criminal Justice Clinic, the Community Economic and Equity Development Clinic, the Disability Rights Law Clinic, the Immigrant Justice Clinic, the International Human Rights Law Clinic, and the Janet R. Spragens Federal Income Tax Clinic. We use the terms …

Fifty Years Of Clinical Legal Education At American University Washington College Of Law: The Evolution Of A Movement In Theory, Practice, And People, Robert D. Dinerstein, Elliott S. Milstein, Ann C. Shalleck

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Clinical legal education has evolved substantially in the fifty years since Elliott Milstein initiated the clinical model at American University Washington College of Law (“WCL”) that, notwithstanding numerous changes in program and personnel since that time, remains essentially in effect today. In this Article, we explore the theoretical, pedagogical, structural, programmatic, and personnel developments that have occurred during this period. We link these developments to broader developments within the national and international clinical legal education spheres. WCL’s Clinical Program, and its clinical faculty, have been leaders in shaping these developments, but, in the best clinical tradition, we have not done …

Trauma-Informed (As A Matter Of) Course, Natalie Netzel

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Law students are impacted by trauma and law professors are in a position to help by adopting a trauma-informed approach as a matter of universal precaution. The 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being (“SLSWB”) revealed that over twenty percent of responding law students meet criteria that indicate they should be evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”). The study also revealed that almost fifty percent of responding students reported an important motivation for attending law school was experiencing a trauma or injustice. Put differently, law schools are full of law students who have experienced trauma, many of whom are actively struggling …

Teaching Case Theory, Binny Miller

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

As the key means of framing a case, case theory is the central problem that lawyers confront in constructing a case, and many of the decisions made during the life of a case are decisions that rest on case theory. Building on the author's earlier scholarship on case theory, this essay articulates a concept of case theory called "storyline," and sets out a framework for teaching this concept. The framework for this process has three basic stages - imagining case theory, evaluating (and constructing) case theory, and choosing case theory. The material for this process is stories, which are the …

Building Fierce Empathy, Binny Miller

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In this Article I explore the process of building and sustaining empathy with clients in the context of representing juvenile lifers-- people convicted of serious crimes as children and sentenced to life or sentences that ensure that they spend most of their lives in prison--in a law school clinic. Before turning to my own lawyering experiences and those of my clinic students, I ground the discussion of empathy in the competing theories of Charles Ogletree and Abbe Smith about the value of empathic lawyering for public defenders. These theories, together with the contributions of other scholars, provide a springboard for …

A Fiduciary Theory Of Prosecution, Bruce A. Green, Rebecca Roiphe

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Death Penalty, Trumpism, And Civil Rights Enforcement, Richard Broughton

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of The Government's Failure To Protect Children Witnessing Parental Arrest And Detainment, Tiffany Simmons, Bahiyyah Muhammad, Kasandra Dodd

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ethics And The History Of Social Movement Lawyering, Susan Carle

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

A Deadly Pair: Conflicts Of Interest Between Death Investigators And Prosecutors, Ira P. Robbins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

As an inevitable fact of life, death is a mysterious specter looming over us as we move through the world. It consumes our literature, religions, and social dialogues — the death of a prominent figure can change policies and perceptions about our approaches to many problems. Given death’s significance, it is reasonable to try to understand causes of death generally, as well as on a case-by-case basis. While scholars and mourners attempt to answer the philosophical questions about death, the practical and technical questions are typically answered by death investigators. Death investigators attempt to decipher the circumstances surrounding suspicious and …

The Prosecutor's Ethical Duty To End Mass Incarceration, Angela J. Davis

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Prosecutors Should Consider Collateral Consequences, Robert M.A. Johnson

Criminal Law Practitioner

No abstract provided.

Effective Plea Bargaining Counsel, Jenny M. Roberts

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Fifty years ago, Clarence Earl Gideon needed an effective trial attorney. The Supreme Court agreed with Gideon that the Sixth Amendment guaranteed him the right to counsel at trial. Recently, Galin Frye and Anthony Cooper also needed effective representation. These two men, unlike Gideon, wanted to plead guilty and thus needed effective plea bargaining counsel. However, their attorneys failed to represent them effectively, and the Supreme Court - recognizing the reality that ninety-five percent of all convictions follow guilty pleas and not trials - ruled in favor of Frye and Cooper.

If negotiation is a critical stage in a system …

Rule 3.8, The Jencks Act, And How The Aba Created A Conflict Between Ethics And The Law On Prosecutorial Disclosure, Kirsten M. Schimpff

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ghostwriting: Filling In The Gaps Of Pro Se Prisoners' Access To The Courts, Ira P. Robbins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Compared with other litigants, pro se prisoners are at an inherent disadvan-tage when they try to vindicate their rights. They lack many of the resources enjoyed by non-prisoner litigants. They have limited finances and limited access to legal-research materials. Even if they had such access, their illiteracy would lessen its effectiveness. Moreover, many attorneys are unwilling or unable to undertake full representation of prisoner litigants. As a result, pro se prisoners struggle to navigate the complex legal system, often losing their cases on procedural grounds before ever reaching a decision on the merits. This Article argues that, in order to …

Structure And Integrity, Susan Carle

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In this Review Essay of David Luban's Legal Ethics and Human Dignity, I argue that although Professor Luban has not had much to say until now about "structural" concerns - namely, how lawyers' locations within institutions that organize access to power shape or should shape those lawyers' conduct - in his most recent work, another approach slips in as a supplement to his individualist framework. In this emerging supplement, structural concerns become increasingly important. Although individual integrity continues to matter most in Professor Luban's world view, it increasingly matters in the context of structural relations in which lawyers' ethical duties …

The Legal Profession's Failure To Discipline Unethical Prosecutors, Angela J. Davis

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article explores the legal profession's failure to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct and other ethical violations. Part I introduces the piece, providing several examples of prosecutorial power and abuse in the criminal justice system. Part II discusses prosecutorial misconduct and the inadequacy of current legal remedies. Part III argues that the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility have not provided adequate guidance to prosecutors, and that the disciplinary process has not been effective in disciplining prosecutors when they have abused their power and discretion. Part IV contends that the disbarment of Mike Nifong – the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse …

Power As A Factor In Lawyers' Ethical Deliberation, Susan Carle

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Equal Justice Under The Law: Why Iolta Programs Do Not Violate The First Amendment, Hillary A. Webber

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Telling Stories About Cases And Clients: The Ethics Of Narrative, Binny Miller

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

In recent years, narrative has achieved great prominence in legal scholarship and in much other academic work, although the concept is not new. The legal realists always have emphasized the importance of stories; as long ago as 1941, Karl Llewellyn published case studies of the Cheyenne and their dispute settlement practices. In step with the popularity of narrative in legal scholarship, stories about the individuals behind the legal doctrine are increasingly common. While the terms "narrative" and "story" are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not quite the same thing.

Theory And Experience In Constructing The Realitonship Between Lawyer And Client: Representing Women Who Have Been Abused, Ann Shalleck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Ethics And The Federal Prosecutor: The Continuing Conflict Over The Application Of Model Rule 4.2 To Federal Attorneys, Neals-Erik William Delker

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Meditation On The Theoretics Of Practice, Robert Dinerstein

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.