Congratulations to third-year students Lindsey K. Adams, D. Briana Barnett and Nia N. Waller for finishing as national finalists in the 16th Annual Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition. Instructor Joe Lester served as coach. He was assisted by 2021 alumna Joi A. Siler.
During the 2021-22 academic year, more than 435 School of Law students enrolled in one of the school's 17 clinic/externship programs and cumulatively engaged in 94,129 service-learning hours. Nearly 28,000 of those hours occurred under the direct supervision of law school faculty members directing in-house clinical programs – all of which provide access to justice services for underrepresented communities and individuals.
The Criminal Defense Practicum, in partnership with the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office and the Southern Center for Human Rights, secured a full acquittal for its client facing a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Practicum Director Elizabeth Taxel served as lead counsel throughout the nine-day trial in DeKalb County Superior Court. Third-year students Charles A. "Charlie" McKeown and Hailey S. Laurie provided ongoing trial support alongside administrative assistant Jessie Des Jardines, who created the trial’s exhibits and demonstratives.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sexual Abuse Victims Act of 2022, which eliminates the statute of limitations for a variety of federal civil claims, such as the sexual abuse of a minor and sexual exploitation of children. To help child sexual abuse survivors and their advocates, the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic – which is the first of its kind in the nation – has created a resource guide explaining common questions about the new law that can be found on the clinic's website.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic has won its case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Third-year student Roby A. Jernigan presented oral argument in the case Jordan v. State of Georgia during July. The clinic's client was stabbed 11 times by his cellmate while two officers watched from outside his door. The question raised was whether the officers violated Jordan’s Eighth Amendment rights by failing to prevent the attack and by failing to intervene once it started. Class of 2022 graduates Tinsley J. Stokes and Mark L. Bailey helped write the briefs.