Spring Courses 2014
(Click on the blue hyperlinks to go to the online course description)
Advanced Environmental Law: Climate Change Experiential Learning Seminar
(Arroyo, Vicki; Pacyniak, Gabe; All graded; 3 credits)
This course will examine the evolving legal and policy developments concerning global climate change, and provide students the opportunity to engage in hands-on work with policymakers in addressing the issue. Lawmaking institutions are struggling to keep pace with the challenge of climate change at the same time as law is being used as a tool to promote governmental and private party responsiveness to climate risks. The course will examine international, federal, state, and private party approaches, including the evolving treaties, statutes, regulations, and court decisions concerning this subject. Students will prepare papers and make presentations in class and to outside “clients” on topics being analyzed for states through the work of the Georgetown Climate Center of Georgetown Law (www.georgetownclimate.org). The Center works with states and communities on crafting policy strategies to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change and to adapt to the consequences of climate change. Class participation will be graded.
Fighting Organized Crime in the 21st Century
(Ohr, Bruce; field placement is pass/fail; 5 credits)
This course will introduce students to the challenges involved in fighting organized crime in a transnational setting using both traditional and non-traditional methods. Students will explore the investigative and prosecutive tools developed to fight organized crime in the United States and the benefits and risks associated with each. The class will examine how organized crime has become a global phenomenon and the threats posed by organized crime to the United States and key countries around the globe. Students will confront the special challenges presented by the investigation and prosecution of transnational organized crime groups, and how U.S. agents and prosecutors attempt to meet these challenges. Finally, the class will assess efforts outside of traditional prosecutions to limit the growth and power of transnational organized crime.
The practice component of the course will supplement and inform students’ understanding of each of the themes of the course through internships in various Sections and Offices of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. As interns, students will have the opportunity to work on complex prosecutions, assist in the exchange of information between cooperating law enforcement agencies of the U.S. and other countries, or work on policy issues relating to international justice affairs.
Immigration Law and the Rights of Detained Immigrants
(Schoenholtz, Andrew; All graded; 5 credits)
Immigrants in the United States face a variety of challenges in asserting their rights. This experiential learning course will focus on challenges faced by those imprisoned while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tries to remove them from the United States. Hundreds of thousands are detained every year during their removal proceedings, and their numbers have doubled since 2005. Over 80% of detained immigrants are not represented in immigration court. Indigent immigrants who are incarcerated generally appear pro se and face DHS counsel in adversarial proceedings before an Immigration Judge. With the aim of preparing to help detained immigrants understand and assert their rights, students will learn about the relevant legal regimes that govern the detention and removal of immigrants in the U.S. The seminar will examine the laws, policies and practices in each of these areas. Students will study and learn through experience the role of counsel with respect to protecting the rights of detained immigrants. In addition to developing substantive legal knowledge, the seminar will focus on skills such as interviewing and making legal presentations to immigrants. In the practicum component, students will extern with advocacy organizations either conducting intake interviews aimed at assessing an immigrant’s eligibility for relief from deportation and making legal presentations, or engaging in policy research and analysis. To prepare students for learning new areas of law, students will conduct research and make class presentations, and write regular reflections on their field experience and on their observation of immigration court removal proceedings. Partnerships with advocacy organizations have been arranged for seminar participants.
Modern Abolition: The Practice of Ending Child Labor and Human Trafficking
(Hartman, Kayleen; Stauss, Karen; field placement is pass/fail; 4 credit )
Human trafficking is an umbrella term used to describe a whole host of crimes against the human body and human dignity. It encompasses the bonded laborer in the brick kilns of India, the Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong, and the 15-year-old sold for sex on the streets of Washington, D.C. In some places, certain forms of modern slavery are unacknowledged by officials and civil society alike, and virtually everywhere, the resources needed to combat the scourge are unavailable. Nonetheless, practitioners the world over are now undertaking the tremendous task of finding and implementing solutions to protect victims of human trafficking, rehabilitate survivors, create accountability for traffickers and those who profit from trafficking, and take down the systems that allow slavery to persist, so that survivors of human trafficking are not replaced by new victims in an endless cycle. This course is intended to give law students exposure to the methods practitioners use in their efforts to combat human trafficking, as well as practical experience and skills-building using those methods. Students will be placed either within different program areas at the non-profit organization Free the Slaves or with one of the several D.C.-area anti-trafficking NGOs who work closely in coalition with Free the Slaves. The course will cover developing local capacity and partnering with existing community organizations to create community-based and community-driven strategies; drafting anti-trafficking legislation; human rights researching and reporting; developing and utilizing grassroots constituencies; and legislative and administrative advocacy both here and abroad
New -- O’Neill Institute Practicum: Global Health Law and Policy
(Baytor, Tanya; Cabrera, Oscar; McGrady, Benn; All graded; 4 credits)
This course will provide students with the practical experience of working on O’Neill Institute projects that engage intersecting international legal regimes, including trade law, public international law and human rights law, to respond to contemporary global health challenges. Through coursework, students will gain an in depth understanding of global health law and an overview of some of the key international legal instruments. They will also gain an appreciation of the major institutions that govern the global health law field, such as United Nations Institutions, the World Health Organization, and the role that civil society organizations play globally. On the experiential/field-work side, students will work with external partners on legal and policy projects related to global health. For example, students may draft alternative reports to UN bodies analyzing compliance with human rights obligations related to tobacco control (e.g., “shadow reports”). A report such as this would analyze the prevailing legal frameworks for tobacco control in a particular country and highlight any weaknesses in the statutory and regulatory language. A report such as this would also suggest recommendations for the UN body to consider. ?Class time will be devoted to developing practical advocacy and drafting skills to support students in their project work. Students will also learn how to use epidemiological data to support and craft compelling arguments for advancing government policies on global health. By working with the O’Neill Institute and civil society organizations partnered with the O’Neill Institute, the course will give students the opportunity to use international law to advocate for positive health outcomes.
NEW-- Problem Solving Justice: Developments in Treatment, Diversion and Community Courts (Rohr, Demeo; field placement is pass/fail; 4 credits)
This practicum seminar will introduce students to the legal concepts, administrative and ethical challenges and public debates concerning this country's exponential growth of problem-solving courts. State and some federal courts are reforming conventional courtrooms and designing specialty dockets to reduce recidivism and the devastating impact of behavioral health disorders, addiction and other daily challenges faced by parties before them. Although varying in their methodology, most of these courts are based upon the premise that problems arising from criminal (and some civil) cases should be solved, not simply adjudicated. Unlike conventional courtrooms, judges and attorneys may place greater emphasis on results-driven proceedings, individually tailored sentencing, social service interventions, cross-agency partnerships and uniquely trained judicial officers.
In addition to engaging the lively theoretical debate over the benefits and risks of modifying adversarial principles, this course will closely examine how problem solving courts look in practice. Some of the specialty courts operating in the District of Columbia include Juvenile Behavioral Diversion, Family Treatment, Adult Mental Health, Drug and Fathering Courts. Problem solving principles have also been incorporated within DC’s Community Courts, or criminal courtrooms dedicated to adjudicating cases from designated neighborhood wards.
Although problem solving courts number in the thousands nationwide, their future is still undetermined as their methodologies, procedures and effectiveness are still under development. Students will have the rare opportunity to critically engage the tools of procedural justice and the experiences of attorneys in both conventional and reformed courtrooms in order to make their own conclusions as to the value of problem solving courts.
Public Interest Advocacy: Tobacco/Personal Health Care Products
(Page, Joseph; Cluderay, Thomas; Greenwold, Mark; field placement is pass/fail; 4 or 5 credits)
This practicum course will focus on regulation of tobacco and personal-care products by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The classroom component will utilize legislative and administrative materials as well as case law to enable students to become acquainted with the processes by which the federal government regulates tobacco and personal-care products and to critique both the statutory framework and the performance of FDA in carrying out its administrative duties. The course will also touch on related topics such as the role of the Federal Trade Commission in the regulation of trade practices, the Freedom of Information Act, the legislative process and the interaction of federal and state regulation. In the experiential component of the course, students will work as interns with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on projects aimed at influencing the legislative or administrative processes, or on matters in litigation, under the supervision of attorneys connected with these organizations.
Regulatory Advocacy: Women and the Affordable Care Act
(Garcia, Kelli; All graded; 4 credits)
This practicum course will provide an introduction to regulatory advocacy as it pertains to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and women’s health. Curricular work will provide (1) an introduction to rulemaking and regulatory advocacy; (2) an introduction to the Affordable Care Act, insurance market reforms and how health care reform will affect women’s health; and (3) opportunities to read and analyze statutory language, proposed rules, public comments and final rules, when available. Part I of the course will begin with an introduction to the rulemaking process with a focus on the role of consumer advocates. Part II will turn to the ACA’s insurance market reforms and how these reforms will affect women. Part III will focus on analyzing proposed rules, asking how the proposed rules will affect women, examining how consumer advocates responded to the proposed rule and then, by examining the final rule, how effective that advocacy was. In addition, class lectures and discussion will include information on advocacy that happened before the official rule-making period commenced. For the practicum part of the course, students will work with partner organizations to provide background research and/or draft public comments for a regulatory matter pertaining to the ACA. Students will have the opportunity to participate in strategy meetings and conference calls with the partner organizations and other coalition members.
NEW -- Regulatory Agency Litigation: Roles, Skills and Strategies
(Hempling, Scott; field placement is pass/fail; 5 credits)
This practicum seminar will introduce students to the legal concepts, administrative and ethical challenges and public debates concerning this country's exponential growth of problem-solving courts. State and some federal courts are reforming conventional courtrooms and designing specialty dockets to reduce recidivism and the devastating impact of behavioral health disorders, addiction and other daily challenges faced by parties before them. Although varying in their methodology, most of these courts are based upon the premise that problems arising from criminal (and some civil) cases should be solved, not simply adjudicated. Unlike conventional courtrooms, judges and attorneys may place greater emphasis on results-driven proceedings, individually tailored sentencing, social service interventions, cross-agency partnerships and uniquely trained judicial officers.
In addition to engaging the lively theoretical debate over the benefits and risks of modifying adversarial principles, this course will closely examine how problem solving courts look in practice. Some of the specialty courts operating in the District of Columbia include Juvenile Behavioral Diversion, Family Treatment, Adult Mental Health, Drug and Fathering Courts. Problem solving principles have also been incorporated within DC’s Community Courts, or criminal courtrooms dedicated to adjudicating cases from designated neighborhood wards.
Although problem solving courts number in the thousands nationwide, their future is still undetermined as their methodologies, procedures and effectiveness are still under development. Students will have the rare opportunity to critically engage the tools of procedural justice and the experiences of attorneys in both conventional and reformed courtrooms in order to make their own conclusions as to the value of problem solving courts.
Suing Sudan: Constructing International Human Rights Cases
(Bair, James; Quarterman, Marc; field placement is pass/fail; 4 credits)
This practicum course is designed to teach students the basic principles of international human rights litigation using the North African State of Sudan as a case study. The seminar will include an introduction to fundamental aspects of public international law, including, but not limited to, customary international law, the law of treaties, the rights and duties of States under international law, and diplomatic protection. For the field work portion of the class, using Sudan as a case study, students will then examine possible avenues through which individuals and State and non-State actors may be held responsible before judicial and quasi-judicial venues for human rights abuses committed in Sudan. With evidence gathered by the Enough Project and Satellite Sentinel Project, students will be required to identify possible venues for litigating identified human rights abuses and will devise a litigation strategy for the same. In particular, students will: • Work with international legal instruments; • Use creative approaches to thinking about criminal liability under international and domestic laws; • Identify various judicial and quasi-judicial venues before which corporations and State and non-State actors may be held accountable for human rights abuses under international and domestic laws; • Work with non-governmental organizations; • Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of prioritizing victims’ reparations over holding perpetrators accountable for human rights abuses, and vice versa; and • Develop litigation strategies for human rights cases. The Enough Project and Satellite Sentinel Project will use the products that the students produce in the field work/experiential portion of the seminar to explore possible litigation strategies designed to hold accountable perpetrators of human rights abuses in Sudan. The professors will build off of their own experiences in international litigation and living and working abroad, particularly in Sudan. Public international law practitioners also will be invited to guest lecture.
NEW -- Supreme Court Institute, Judicial Clerkship
(Bernstein, Dori; All graded; 3 credits)
The SCI Judicial Clerkship Practicum will operate in conjunction with the Supreme Court Institute (SCI) at Georgetown Law. The SCI provides moot courts to Supreme Court advocates in 95% of the cases the Court hears each Term. Each moot court panel is composed of five “Justices,” professors or practitioners with experience in Supreme Court and appellate advocacy. More information about the SCI’s moot court program is available at www.law.georgetown.edu/academics/centers-institutes/supreme-court-institute/index.cfm. The Judicial Clerkship Practicum will enable 12 J.D. students to function as “law clerks” who will help prepare “Justices” to serve on SCI moot court panels. During the semester-long course, each student will be assigned a case scheduled for argument in two Supreme Court argument sittings. The student/clerk will read the case materials (lower court opinion, party and amicus curiae briefs, and any statutes, regulations, or prior cases central to the parties’ arguments) and prepare a written “bench memorandum” that will summarize the ruling on review, the pertinent legal authorities, the position of each party, and any noteworthy amicus perspectives. The bench memo will propose several questions to ask the advocate during the moot, and suggest the best answer to each question. Prior to the moot court, the student/clerk will submit the bench memo to a Justice (a SCI Director or Georgetown Law professor) who has volunteered to serve on the moot panel, and will meet with the Justice for a “case conference” to discuss the case in preparation for the moot. The week after attending the moot court, the student/clerk will attend the Supreme Court argument, read the argument transcript, or listen to the audio recording, and write a post-mortem review describing the ways in which the moot resembled and differed from the argument.
Preparation for oral argument is a critical step in an advocate’s preparation for oral argument, and the moot court panelists – all experienced appellate advocates – are engaged in legal practice when they help an advocate prepare to argue before the Supreme Court. A student who assists in this process is engaged in legal work in the same way that a legal extern who conducts legal research or digests deposition transcripts to assist an attorney engaged in litigation. The students’ bench memos and case conferences will enhance the moot preparation of participating justices, and improve the quality of the preparation SCI offers to Supreme Court advocates. In addition, the post-mortem analyses prepared by the students will be a valuable means of improving SCI’s moot court program – an exercise in “quality control” that may disclose where the moots fall short in anticipating the actual argument, and assist us in improving our service to advocates and the Court.
Women and Immigration: Government Protection for Women Fleeing Gender-Based Persecution and Abuse
(Johnson-Firth, Lisa; field placement is pass/fail; 4 credits)
Shifting migration patterns and societal forces have caused more women to leave their home countries and attempt to enter the United States. While a woman may flee her home country for the same reasons as a man, research shows that refugee women also flee their countries for gender-related reasons. In many countries, women face persecution and violence just for being women. This includes the use of rape as a weapon of war, domestic violence, so-called honor crimes, forced marriage, widow rituals, one child policies, forced sterilization policies, and female genital mutilation. In this practicum class, students will study and learn through experience about the societal forces causing the forced migration of women and how U.S. laws and policies address the immigration status of these female immigrants. We will focus on forms of relief that, while available to both men and women, are almost exclusively accessed by women to obtain legal status in the United States. Specifically, we will focus on: Asylum (specifically the gender-based prong of “membership in a particular social group”), the Violence against Women Act (for abused women who are or were married to U.S. citizens), U Visas (for victims of crime), and T Visas (for victims of trafficking). Students will conduct intakes of women fleeing their countries because of gender-based violence and draft memos for the nonprofit organization who may take on representation of the clients. Students will also work directly with attorneys at local legal services agencies who are representing female survivors of gender-based harm seeking legal status in the U.S.
