Clinic: Civil Rights Litigation

4 Credit Hours

The Civil Rights Litigation Clinic, taught by the professors in the MacArthur Justice Center, litigates cases aimed at challenging injustices in the criminal and immigration legal systems. The Clinic is involved in significant civil rights matters in Illinois and across the country, including: protecting immigrant communities from unlawful abuse and detention by the federal government, class action challenges to unlawful parole systems, ending incommunicado detention in police stations, enforcement of protesters’ rights, challenges to solitary confinement and other unconstitutional conditions, ensuring prisoners’ protection from harm, and challenges to excessive force by law enforcement. Students will have the opportunity to support clients, engage in community coalition-building relating to MJC’s advocacy work, and participate in various stages of complex civil litigation, including investigation, written and oral discovery, motion practice, expert discovery, and hearing and trial preparation.