Clinic Practice: Human Rights Advocacy at Home and Abroad

4 Credit Hours

In this clinical course, students will work on projects that will expose them to diverse forms of human rights advocacy before domestic courts, international tribunals, and foreign courts. The clinic is litigation-oriented, although clinic students will also be exposed to legislative advocacy and may have the opportunity to engage in fact-finding and research regarding human rights violations abroad. A current sampling of projects includes: (1) representation of Mexican nationals on death row in Texas who are facing imminent execution in violation of the Avena Judgment of the International Court of Justice, a case that mandated judicial hearings in the cases of 52 Mexican nationals on death row whose consular rights have been violated; (2) appellate advocacy on behalf of prisoners in Malawi who have been denied the right to counsel, and collaboration with lawyers in Malawi to reduce prison overcrowding and protect the rights of pre-trial detainees (in the past, a number of clinic students have traveled to Malawi to work directly with prisoners there); (3) representation of Mohamed al Qahtani, a prisoner at Guantanamo who was tortured by U.S. interrogators, in federal habeas proceedings; and (4) working with lawyers around the world to promote the implementation of international norms regarding the application of the death penalty. NOTE: There will be a mandatory clinic student orientation hosted by clinic faculty on Sunday, September 8, 2013 from 1:00 5:00 pm.