Public Interest Commons^™

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program Offering Free Tax Assistance Through March 24, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Qualifying local taxpayers will again have help navigating federal and state tax returns this spring, as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program returns to the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Both U.S. and certain international taxpayers are eligible to utilize the free services, which will run on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6:30–9:30 p.m. beginning January 26 and continuing through March 24. Services will be available on a first-come, first-served basis in Room 121 on the first floor of the Law School, located at 211 South Indiana Avenue in Bloomington.

Bridging The Digital Divide: The Role Of Evolving Space Law In Ensuring Equitable Access And Ethical Use Of Climate Data, Caitlin B. Riordan

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Dual Purposes Of A Plea Bargaining Simulation: Pedagogical Skills Training And Controlled Data Collection Experiment About Crime Victim’S Access To Justice Via Counsel, Tung Yin

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

The Law’S Failure To Protect Our Drinking Water From Pfas, Emily Levine

Indiana Law Journal

How did per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the forever chemicals known to harm human health and appear in most Americans’ blood, spread so widely in drinking water? Why didn’t someone with the power and knowledge to stop this crisis step in sooner? Simply imposing limits on PFAS levels in public water systems is the bare minimum to protect American drinking water—a necessary step but only the starting point of a long path toward creating a regulatory framework that can withstand the whims of changing presidential administrations and political influences.

     It is too easy for the EPA Administrator, either out of …

3l Jayden Boudreau Earns Prestigious Skadden Fellowship, Maurer School Of Law - Indiana University

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Skadden Fellowship Foundation announced this week that 3L Jayden Boudreau is one of only 34 law students from across the country—and the only one from an Indiana law school— that has been selected as a 2026 Skadden Fellow, one of the most prestigious honors in public interest law.

The award will support Boudreau’s innovative ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, focused on protecting the rights of queer and transgender youth in school settings through legal advocacy and systemic policy engagement. He will spend two years in New York City, working at the national headquarters of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Honoring Our 2025 Pro Bono Award Recipients, Maurer School Of Law - Indiana University

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The Indiana University Maurer School of Law celebrated its 2025 Pro Bono Award winners this week, honoring students, faculty, and community members who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to serving others through legal advocacy and volunteer work.

The student awards recognized the individuals in each class who logged the highest number of pro bono hours during the past academic year. This year’s honorees were:

• Laura Stancato ’26, of Fishers, Indiana, who was honored for her leadership with the Protective Order Project and the Civil Protective Order Clinic. “This work uncovered a passion for helping others, particularly survivors of sexual and domestic …

Crip The Law: Representation As A Key Component Of Liberation Lawyering, Marissa Ditkowsky

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Do Federal Circuit Courts Of Appeal Provide Adequate Assistance To Self-Represented Litigants? A Review Of The Circuits’ Websites Resources, Jona Goldschmidt

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Housing As A Human Right Through Legislative Action: Comparing France And Scotland’S Enforceable Rights To Housing, Emily Peterson, Jack E. Turman Jr., Ph.D.

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Hudson Earns Community Leadership Award, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Empathetic. Driven. Supportive. Engaged.

Those are just a few of the many adjectives nominators used to describe Nashuba Hudson, the recipient of the 2024 Student Leadership in Fostering Community and Inclusiveness Award. Hudson, a 3L from Chicago, was presented the award today (Aug. 16) as part of the concluding events of this year’s 1L Orientation.

Established in 2018, the award, which comes with a $2,000 scholarship, celebrates a student who “goes above and beyond to foster our diverse, inclusive, supportive, and welcoming community.” Recipients are honored for their work in the previous year.

Hudson is the first Black woman to …

Stevens Foundation Selects Four Law Students As 2024 Fellows, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

The John Paul Stevens Foundation has chosen four Indiana University Maurer School of Law students to serve as 2024 Stevens Fellows this summer. The Foundation made the announcement today (June 26).

Selection as a Stevens Fellow comes with $12,000—half from the Foundation, half from the Law School—to help offset the cost of unpaid public interest work over the summer. This year’s Stevens Fellows are Kristal Davis ’25, from Lansing, Michigan; Allegra Maldonado ’25, from Indianapolis; James Monroe ’25, from Naperville, Illinois; and Niara Wakaba ’26, from Louisville.