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Law 91��Ƶ alumnae to clerk for US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett

2024-05-21T08:00:00-04:00

Two Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ graduates, Kari Lorentson and Elizabeth Totzke, will clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett during the 2024-25 term.

Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ in 1997. She joined the faculty in 2002 and remained a faculty member until her confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2020.

Kari Lorentson

Kari Lorentson

Lorentson is a 2019 graduate of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ.

“Clerking for Justice Barrett is a dream come true,” Lorentson said. “My very first class at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ was civil procedure on a Monday morning — taught by then-Professor Barrett. I ended up taking several of her classes during law school and served as her research assistant.”

This is Lorentson’s second clerkship with Barrett. She clerked for then-Judge Barrett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2020. However, her clerkship was cut short when Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court.

“I am thrilled to spend an entire year learning from Justice Barrett at the Supreme Court,” Lorentson said.

Lorentson completed her clerkship at the Seventh Circuit with Judge Michael Y. Scudder Jr. She also clerked for Judge Gerald J. Pappert, a 1988 Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ graduate, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania immediately after she graduated.

“I’m grateful to have clerked for all three judges. They are sharp thinkers, generous mentors and models of integrity,” Lorentson said. “My experiences clerking at both district and appellate courts allowed for a front-row seat in witnessing the litigation process play out from start to finish. I’m excited to spend another year absorbing as much as possible from our nation’s top legal minds.”

As a law student, Lorentson served as executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review and was a member of the Moot Court Board. She received the Col. William J. Hoynes Award, which is presented to one member of each graduating class and is Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s highest academic honor.

Lorentson said that several professors, along with her classmates, were especially supportive in preparing her to clerk during law school.

“The professors at the Law 91��Ƶ are not only talented in their teaching and scholarship, but they are also deeply devoted to developing the next generation of lawyers. I’m also grateful for my classmates and for the collegial and supportive environment that the Law 91��Ƶ fosters,” Lorentson said. “My professors at Notre Dame and the judges for whom I clerked instilled in me the importance of using my education to serve the public, and it is a privilege and honor to be able to do so at the Supreme Court.”

Anthony J. Bellia, the O’Toole Professor of Constitutional Law, said, “Kari Lorentson is a superb lawyer and a person of exceptional judgment. From her early days as a law student, she had an extraordinary ability to identify the core issues in complex legal problems, and to appreciate the broader significance of those issues for the legal system as a whole. She will serve Justice Barrett and the Supreme Court very well.”

Lorentson is currently an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree from American University.

Lorentson’s time at Notre Dame made a lasting impact on her personal life as well. She met her husband, 2019 Law 91��Ƶ graduate Matt Razzano, while in law school, and they have a young daughter, Charlotte.

Elizabeth Totzke

Elizabeth Totzke

Totzke is a 2022 graduate of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ. After graduating, she clerked for Chief Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit during the 2022-23 term. Totzke is completing her second clerkship with Judge David Stras of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit.

“Clerking has been such an enriching, meaningful experience. It has exposed me to new areas of the law, helped me to grow as a legal thinker and writer, and introduced me to lifelong friends. I am so grateful to both Judge Sykes and Judge Stras for giving me these opportunities and for mentoring me along the way,” Totzke said.

Reflecting on her selection to clerk for Barrett, Totzke also expressed deep admiration for the justice.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to have been selected to clerk for Justice Barrett, whom I have admired since the start of my time at Notre Dame Law,” Totzke said. “She is a brilliant jurist, and perhaps even more importantly, she is an excellent role model with paramount integrity and a deep commitment to her faith and family. I am thrilled to have the chance to learn from her.”

Totzke sees her clerkship with Barrett as a significant opportunity for professional and personal growth.

“It is an immense privilege to have the opportunity to assist Justice Barrett as she and the rest of the court resolve the important cases of next term. I hope to serve well,” Totzke said. “I also am looking forward to learning from Justice Barrett, the other justices, my co-clerks and the country’s best advocates — both through observation and instruction. Whether it be at oral argument, in chambers, or otherwise, I have no doubt that next year will be filled with opportunities to hone my skills as a young lawyer.”

While at ND Law, Totzke served as the managing articles editor for the Notre Dame Law Review and as a student fellow in the Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ Religious Liberty Initiative.

Totzke received the Dean Joseph O’Meara Award, one of the three highest academic awards, presented annually to a member of the Law 91��Ƶ graduating class for outstanding academic achievement.

“I feel so fortunate for my time at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ. Not only did I receive a top-notch legal education, but I was also consistently reminded of the importance of leading a virtuous and meaningful life,” Totzke said. “My professors taught by example; they are as kind and generous as they are accomplished. I am so grateful for their mentorship and guidance.”

Nicole Stelle Garnett, associate dean for external engagement and the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law, said, “Elizabeth was an exceptional student and a leader among her peers. I had the privilege of working with her on a Supreme Court amicus brief in an important religious liberty case, as well as co-authoring an op-ed with her about the case, and her contributions were outstanding. The opportunity to form young lawyers like Elizabeth, who will go on to do great things, is an immense privilege. I know that she’ll make Notre Dame proud.”

Totzke received her undergraduate degree from St. Norbert College. Her husband, Hunter Van Asten, is also a 2022 ND Law graduate.

Two members of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s faculty will join Lorentson and Totzke as clerks for the October 2024 term.

Professor of Law Christian Burset will clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Associate Professor of Law Rev. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C., will clerk for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Lorentson and Totzke will be the fifth and sixth graduates of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ to clerk at the Supreme Court since the 2019-20 term.

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ has 14 former Supreme Court clerks on its faculty, which amounts to more than one-third of the Law 91��Ƶ’s tenured and tenure-track faculty members.

In addition, the Law 91��Ƶ is ranked No. 4 in the nation in placing graduates in federal clerkships, which are typically considered a stepping stone to clerking at the Supreme Court.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on May 20.

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ establishes new Global Human Rights Clinic

2023-11-21T08:00:00-05:00

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ has established a new Global Human Rights Clinic. Launching in spring 2024, the new clinic will be the experiential learning unit of the Law 91��Ƶ’s LL.M. Program in Human Rights Law and will be open to J.D. and Human Rights LL.M. students. J.S.D. students will be welcomed as doctoral fellows collaborating on specific clinic projects, while a few select undergraduates will contribute through limited research-focused internships at the clinic.

The new clinic will draw from 50 years of unique international human rights pedagogy and theory of jurisprudence at Notre Dame, which is already being applied by Notre Dame alumni to defend human rights across the world.

G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ

The clinic will represent cases at institutions such as the International Court of Justice, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, International Criminal Court and the U.N. Human Rights Treaty Bodies. It will also undertake research and advocacy projects in collaboration with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition, the clinic will address cases challenging authoritarianism in the Global South, advocating for individuals who may not typically be represented by other human rights clinics.

“The creation of this new Global Human Rights Clinic is a testament to our unwavering commitment to make a lasting impact. The clinic will actively pursue justice under international law and hold perpetrators accountable, while providing crucial support to those striving for justice in their countries,” said G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law. “As the oldest Catholic law school in the United States, this aligns seamlessly with our mission to train advocates devoted to defending and advancing human rights globally, to champion justice worldwide and to be a force for good.”

Professor Diane Desierto, faculty director, Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ Global Human Rights Clinic

That mission builds upon the work of Diane Desierto, the founding faculty director of the clinic. Currently serving as faculty director of the LL.M. Program in International Human Rights Law and professor of law and global affairs, Desierto has made significant contributions since her arrival at Notre Dame in 2021. She revamped the human rights program curriculum, aligning human rights theory and practice with the Law 91��Ƶ’s natural law pedagogy; expanded and deepened course offerings in international human rights law; and designed a Graduate Seminar taught by Jean Marc Brissau. This seminar features high-level speakers from Notre Dame Law’s own alumni in the field, alongside international law and human rights academic experts.

Desierto recently joined the Law 91��Ƶ delegation to South Africa that honored the African roots of Notre Dame’s Human Rights Program. Delegation members also recognized 50 years of the program’s global contributions through its alumni and celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. While there, they built partnerships with leading academic institutions, connected with Notre Dame’s human rights LL.M. alumni including South African Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, and concluded with a panel honoring the eminent work of Justice Richard Goldstone at the South African Constitutional Court.

With more than 20 years of experience in international human rights practice, international arbitration and international litigation, Desierto recognized the evolving challenges faced by human rights lawyers in the contemporary world, making the continuity and expansion of the human rights program crucial.

She said, “Growing 15 to 20 international human rights lawyers from all over the world itself creates a multiplier effect as they serve innumerable individuals and groups for the rest of their lives. We equip them to make a lifelong difference in their respective countries. That is our true mandate and mission.”

A board of advisers will provide input to Cole, Desierto and Miller. The board includes Michael Addo, Roger Alford, Paolo Carozza, Nicole Stelle Garnett, Jim Seckinger, O. Carter Snead and Francisco Urbina.

The clinic will offer its courses starting spring 2024, with two-credit courses in the spring semesters and four-credit courses in the fall semesters.

In fall 2024, the clinic will formally launch its inaugural ND Law Global Human Rights Conference, showcasing Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s distinctive pedagogy and practice of natural law, jurisprudence and international human rights law. The conference will platform Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s ongoing engagement with international law and human rights experts from around the world.

As part of the ongoing integration of the clinic into the Law 91��Ƶ community, it will host a separate Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ Global Human Rights Lecture Series. This series will regularly feature distinguished international law and human rights judges, experts, academics, diplomats and practitioners.

To learn more, visit https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/notre-dame-law-school-establishes-new-global-human-rights-clinic/.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on Nov. 16.

Exoneration Justice Clinic receives $3 million grant to defend Mexican nationals in US criminal cases

2023-10-03T15:55:00-04:00

Left to right: Elvia Yolanda Martínez Cosío, Vanessa Calva Ruiz, Jimmy Gurulé, Roberto Velasco Álvarez and Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil after the signing of the letter of intent.

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s Exoneration Justice Clinic has been awarded a $3 million grant from Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to administer a program for the defense of Mexican nationals in criminal matters in the United States. This grant is the largest ever received by a Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ clinic, and it will greatly enhance the Exoneration Justice Clinic’s ability to support clients and provide valuable learning opportunities for students.

The Exoneration Justice Clinic was selected for the award following a national search of wrongful-conviction clinics. The award will establish the Program for the Defense of Mexican Nationals in Criminal Matters, or PDM.

Vanessa Calva Ruiz, director general of consular protection and strategic planning; Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, general consul of Mexico in Chicago; and Professor Jimmy Gurulé, founder and faculty director of the Exoneration Justice Clinic, signed a letter of intent at a formal ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 30) at the Mexican Consulate Office in Chicago.

Esteban Moctezuma, Mexican ambassador to the United States; Roberto Velasco Álvarez, chief officer for the North America Unit; Elvia Yolanda Martínez Cosío, member of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies; and Jesús Seade, undersecretary for North America, also participated in the announcement.

G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, said, “We are honored to receive this grant for the Exoneration Justice Clinic. It speaks to our commitment to justice and recognizes the hard work and dedication of the EJC’s faculty, staff and students. With this grant, we will expand our ability to assist individuals who have suffered wrongful convictions.”

Left to right: Elvia Yolanda Martínez Cosío, Vanessa Calva Ruiz, Jimmy Gurulé, Roberto Velasco Álvarez and Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil sign the letter of intent.

At the announcement ceremony, Gurulé said, “The Exoneration Justice Clinic will be working in close collaboration with the 53 Mexican Consulate offices across the country to overturn the wrongful convictions of Mexican nationals in the United States. At the same time, the PDM will provide Notre Dame law students an invaluable opportunity to participate in litigating wrongful conviction cases in the pursuit of justice.”

Gurulé said that wrongful convictions are of great concern in the U.S., and that Mexican nationals are particularly vulnerable. They often do not speak English and do not understand the criminal justice system and their constitutional rights. This can lead to them being pressured or coerced into making false confessions or other incriminating statements.

The Mexican government recognized this problem and sought an innocence clinic to provide legal representation to Mexican nationals who have been wrongfully convicted in the U.S.

This three-year pilot program will consist of two components. First, the Exoneration Justice Clinic will review claims of actual innocence. These cases will be referred from Mexican consulate offices throughout the U.S. They will first go through an initial screening process and then will be sent to the Exoneration Justice Clinic to evaluate the case for legal representation.

The second component of the project will include pre-trial legal assistance. This will provide a new opportunity for Notre Dame law students to assist in pretrial proceedings, plea bargaining and trial litigation of serious felony cases under a licensed attorney.

“If you can do a thorough investigation upfront, you can prevent people from being wrongfully convicted in the first place,” Gurulé said. “This is a very exciting new dimension of the work that the Exoneration Justice Clinic is able to do.”

The grant funding will also help increase the size of the Exoneration Justice Clinic. Expansion plans include hiring two staff lawyers — one to work on post-conviction cases and one to work on pre-trial cases — along with an investigator and a legal assistant.

“These resources will allow us to double the capacity of the EJC and make a very significant impact both in preventing and overturning wrongful convictions,” Gurulé said.

The Exoneration Justice Clinic currently works on innocence cases primarily in Indiana. With the grant the clinic will expand its reach across the country. It plans to retain local, private counsel in the cities where the cases will be tried. Clinic staff lawyers and law students will work together as co-counsel on these cases.

Jimmy Gurulé speaks to Vanessa Calva Ruiz after the announcement.

One of the most beneficial aspects of this grant to the Law 91��Ƶ is that it will significantly increase the number of students who will receive real-world lawyering experience. More students will have the opportunity to represent clients who were wrongfully convicted or who are at risk of being wrongfully convicted.

“This grant will further provide our students with an opportunity to make a positive impact on reforming the criminal justice system and correcting the miscarriage of justice,” Gurulé said. “This is very exciting and is consistent with Notre Dame’s mission to be a force for good.”

The Exoneration Justice Clinic, which launched in fall 2020, is committed to investigating, litigating and overturning wrongful convictions. The clinic provides students with real-world opportunities to represent clients who have been wrongfully convicted.

In July 2021, the clinic marked its first exoneration when a judge approved the Elkhart County prosecutor’s motion to dismiss the murder charge against Andrew Royer, an Exoneration Justice Clinic client who was wrongfully convicted of a 2002 murder in Elkhart, Indiana.

Read more at exoneration.nd.edu.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on Oct. 2.

US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan visits Notre Dame

2023-09-28T08:00:00-04:00

Justice Elena Kagan speaks with Law 91��Ƶ Dean G. Marcus Cole

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Notre Dame on Friday (Sept. 22).

Kagan spent the morning co-teaching a criminal law class for first-year Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students and meeting with Law 91��Ƶ faculty, and later joined G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of the Law 91��Ƶ, for a livestreamed conversation at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

The talk was the first event of the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum. Since its establishment in 2005 by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the Notre Dame Forum has invited a campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation and the larger world. This year’s theme is “The Future of Democracy.”

In his opening remarks, Father Jenkins thanked Kagan for honoring Notre Dame with her visit and for her commitment to democratic ideals.

“Central to any strong democracy is a strong judiciary, and I can think of few people better equipped than Justice Kagan to kick off our yearlong conversation,” Father Jenkins said. “Justice Kagan has, throughout her career, devoted herself to protecting and advancing democratic principles, strengthening our judicial system, promoting civil discourse and creating opportunities for all.”

More than 800 Notre Dame students, faculty, staff and alumni attended the event, while hundreds more watched online. Kagan and Cole’s candid conversation covered a broad range of topics, including the justice’s approach to writing, whether the court should have taken on the Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program, how her Jewish faith informs her role as a justice, whether the Supreme Court should adopt a code of ethics, and her stance on originalism and the role of precedent in the courts.

The conversation began with a discussion of Kagan’s path to the Supreme Court, which included many years in academia, first as a professor at the University of Chicago Law 91��Ƶ and Harvard Law 91��Ƶ, and later as the first woman to serve as dean of Harvard Law 91��Ƶ.

Drawing on her experience as a professor, Kagan said her teaching experience informs her opinion writing and her efforts to make the judicial process easier to understand.

“When I write my opinions I try hard to figure out how it is that I’m going to explain things to people,” she said. “I want to present ideas in a way that they are comprehensible to people. This is [a] democracy, and people in a democracy should be able to understand how our institutions of government work including the courts.”

Cole asked Kagan about her dissent in several recent cases, including Rucho v. Common Cause, a 2019 case concerning partisan gerrymandering, which she described as one of the most important dissents she has ever written.

“One place where the court has the most responsibility is to actually protect the mechanisms of democracy itself,” she said. “If the democratic system is structured in a fair way, if everybody’s vote is counted and is relatively equal to every other person’s vote, then you let the democratic process work and whatever outcomes it produces. If the rules are skewed from the outset … then the results are going to be skewed. The one place where the court has a role is to protect the institution of representative government.”

Cole also invited Kagan to discuss her views on originalism. She described a framework where, in her view, constitutional meaning evolves and develops over time, and she believes this is consistent with the framers’ intent.

“These people were speaking for the ages, and they knew it,” Kagan said. “If there was anybody who understood how the world changes, it was those people. How societies change, how governments change, how people change. They had brought on a revolution. They wanted the constitution to be fit to govern a people as that people lived over time.”

As the conversation continued, Kagan stressed that this philosophy does not mean courts are free to do what they want.

“Constraint, discipline and incrementalism are really important judicial values,” Kagan said.

She also emphasized adherence to precedent as a key to stability in legal development and to prevent the court from appearing ideologically driven.

“People have no right to expect that they are going to agree with all the decisions that courts make,” she said. “But people do want courts — and have a right to expect — that courts act like courts, and that they don’t look like other political actors.”

Cole also asked Kagan how universities and law schools can create an environment where people feel free to speak their minds in the midst of increasing polarization.

“This nation cannot work or do the things it needs to do unless people can talk with each other, and really try to understand each other and learn from each other,” Kagan said. “This will not happen unless people work together across various disagreements, as profound as they may be.”

Kagan said this is especially important in educational institutions focused on learning, engagement and free exchange of ideas.

After the event, second-year law student Mackenzie Krage said, “Having Justice Kagan grace our law school with her wisdom and experience was truly a remarkable privilege. The conversation she shared with Dean Cole served as a reminder that the pursuit of justice is not just a concept we study, but an important force in our democracy to which courts can protect its future.”

Cole said the visit provided students an invaluable glimpse into the workings of the highest court and served as a reminder that Notre Dame is a welcoming place for free and respectful intellectual exchange.

“We were honored to host Justice Kagan at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ,” Cole said. “I am happy that so many of our students had the opportunity to hear from and engage with her during her time with us.”

Watch the full recording of Justice Kagan’s conversation with Dean Marcus Cole.

US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to visit Notre Dame

2023-09-08T10:30:00-04:00

Justice Elena Kagan

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan will visit the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 22 (Friday).

Justice Kagan will be the first speaker for the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum. She will participate in a conversation with G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, at 2:30 p.m. in the Leighton Concert Hall of the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

The Notre Dame Forum, hosted by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., has been held annually since 2005, with events each year focused on a central theme of particular importance to the University, the nation and the larger world. This year’s forum theme is “The Future of Democracy.”

“We are honored to host Justice Kagan at Notre Dame, and to hear her reflections on the unique role of the judiciary in our democracy,” Father Jenkins said. “I hope this important conversation will encourage each of us to reflect more deeply on the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship and how we can contribute to the flourishing of our democracy.”

The talk will be free, but ticketed, and open to members of the Notre Dame campus community. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Ticket Office one hour prior to the event. Attendees will need to show their Notre Dame identification card at the door.

A livestream of the conversation will be available to watch on Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s YouTube channel. The event will also be open for media coverage.

In addition, Justice Kagan will meet with Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students and faculty during her visit.

“We are deeply honored to have Justice Elena Kagan visit Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ,” Cole said. “Our students, faculty and the entire Notre Dame community will benefit from getting to know one of our nation’s greatest jurists.”

Justice Kagan was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. She was confirmed by the Senate in August 2010 and became the 112th justice and fourth woman on the court.

Prior to her Supreme Court nomination, she served as the solicitor general of the United States, a position that Obama nominated her for in 2009.

Between 2003 and 2009, she served as the dean of Harvard Law 91��Ƶ. She also served for four years in President Bill Clinton’s administration as associate counsel to the president and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy.

A native of New York, Justice Kagan is a graduate of Princeton University. She received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Oxford and earned her juris doctor from Harvard Law 91��Ƶ.

Justice Kagan will be the seventh of the nine sitting justices on the Supreme Court to visit Notre Dame in recent years. Prior justices visiting campus include Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Clarence Thomas. In addition, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited Notre Dame while serving on the court.

Learn more about the 2023-24 Notre Dame Forum at forum.nd.edu.

Law 91��Ƶ’s improved Loan Repayment Assistance Program a boost for 2023 graduates

2023-05-19T11:31:00-04:00

Emma Hildebrand came to Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ with the goal of pursuing a career in government.

She took advantage of opportunities like the Notre Dame Law in D.C. program, where she spent the spring 2022 semester in an externship with the U.S. Agency for International Development. She also did a yearlong judicial externship with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, was executive articles editor for the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation and served as vice president of the Military and Veteran Law Society.

Emma Hildebrand, a 2023 Law 91��Ƶ graduate, said ND Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program enabled her to pursue a career in public service without having to worry about the burden of student loan debt.

After Hildebrand graduates from Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ this weekend, she will realize her goal by returning to Washington to work for the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the prestigious DOJ Honors Program.

And, thanks to Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), Hildebrand won’t have to worry about making payments on her students loans.

LRAP is one of the important ways that Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ fulfills its Catholic mission to educate a “different kind of lawyer” who uses his or her education for the public good. The program supports J.D. graduates who are beginning legal careers in the nonprofit sector, government, policy advocacy, human rights and other fields where lawyers make valuable contributions but are often paid lower salaries.

Earlier this spring, the Law 91��Ƶ announced major enhancements to LRAP that will enable the program to support even more J.D. graduates who pursue their callings in public interest law and government. One of the significant changes is that LRAP will now cover graduates with salaries as high as $100,000, with upward adjustments for graduates with children. That is a 40 percent increase from the previous salary cap of $70,000.

In the class of 2023, LRAP will support new graduates who are starting jobs with nonprofit organizations, the federal government, prosecuting attorney offices, and federal, state and specialized courts.

“As a student who has been focused on public service throughout law school, thinking about the burden of student loan debt and the opportunity for higher incomes in other career paths can be discouraging,” said Hildebrand. “Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ has given us the opportunity to pursue a career in public service without having to worry about that burden.”

Under the previous LRAP structure, Hildebrand would not have qualified for the program because her DOJ salary is more than $70,000. She was excited to learn in March that Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ was improving LRAP to cover more J.D. graduates — including her.

“I would have been making just enough to disqualify myself from LRAP, but not enough to be able to balance the cost of living in Washington, D.C., with paying off my student loans,” Hildebrand said. “The improvements are immensely beneficial for many students in a similar situation.”

Mike Cassidy, a ’23 Law 91��Ƶ graduate

Mike Cassidy, another member of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s class of 2023, will begin his career as a prosecuting attorney with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office in Fort Worth, Texas.

While networking during the summer after his first year of law school, Cassidy realized that he wanted to find an area of the law that he found very fulfilling. He was working as an intern for Judge Peter Bogaard of the New Jersey Superior Court during that summer. He said he spoke to a couple of prosecutors and knew that was the career path he wanted to pursue.

“Their fidelity to the pursuit of justice was admirable,” Cassidy said, “and I saw myself being passionate about the pursuit of justice throughout my career.”

Knowing he had access to LRAP assistance was an important factor in Cassidy’s decision-making process. He said the increase in the salary cap will provide flexibility to him as he moves throughout his career.

“I want to be able to be a career prosecutor, and not have to worry about having to change my job to make ends meet,” said Cassidy. “Thank you so much to the benefactors who have made this program possible. You’ve enabled me to pursue a career path without having to worry about my loans.”

Michael Klein, a ’23 graduate

Michael Klein, who will also graduate this weekend with the class of 2023, will commission this summer to the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He will be responsible for legal assistance to sailors, legal advising to naval commands, and military justice.

“I chose this career path because I value service,” Klein said. “My skills are suited to serve other sailors who have committed their lives to the defense of our nation. I cannot think of a more worthy cause within the secular realm.”

Klein did not expect to qualify for LRAP benefits until the increase in the salary cap was announced earlier this spring.

“The increase will allow me to remain a public servant longer, perhaps for a lifetime, because it will make personal goals like homeownership much more attainable,” said Klein. “I cannot think of a better place to earn a legal education than Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ. The ability and empowerment to choose any career after law school is unmatched.”

Hildebrand also emphasized that using her legal education to serve is the most fulfilling opportunity.

“I am beyond thankful to have been able to attend Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ and am grateful for the school’s effort to continue supporting students even after graduation,” she said.

Learn more about Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program at law.nd.edu/LRAP.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on May 18.

Paolo Carozza testifies before Inter-American Court of Human Rights in case of Beatriz v. El Salvador

2023-04-05T12:57:00-04:00

Notre Dame Law Professor Paolo Carozza testified last week in a landmark human rights case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. The plaintiffs in the high-profile case, Beatriz et al. v. El Salvador, are asking the court to declare the right to an abortion to be an internationally recognized human right.

Beatriz was a 21-year-old woman from El Salvador who sought an early abortion because she had lupus and some of her doctors advised her that pregnancy could exacerbate her health condition, and because her unborn child was anencephalic. She was prevented from terminating the pregnancy because abortion is illegal in El Salvador. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed an application last year before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights arguing that the absolute ban on the elective termination of pregnancy in El Salvador violated that country’s obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights.

Carozza served on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights from 2006 to 2010 and was the commission’s president in 2008-09. He is recognized as a leading expert in comparative constitutional, human rights and international law. He was asked by the court to testify as an expert witness about which international legal standards should be applied in the case. His 50-page written report and oral testimony addressed how the principle of human dignity is relevant in this case; the importance of the right to equal protection of all humans without regard to their development, capacities, sex or other condition; and the obligations and discretion of states under international human rights law to adopt measures to protect human life prior to birth.

In his testimony, Carozza said that international human rights law confirms without exception that the recognition and protection of the equal dignity of every human being is the cornerstone of all universal human rights and that the principle of human dignity on which all international human rights law rests consists of four essential qualities: universal, equal, inherent and inalienable.

Click here to read Carozza’s full testimony.

“These four dimensions of human dignity have clear implications for the rights at stake in this case. They entail that a mother and her child, born or unborn, including both Beatriz and her daughter, are equal bearers of human dignity,” said Carozza. “That cannot change because one of them is ill or disabled or less developed or more vulnerable, any more than it could change because one human being is of a different gender or race or sexual orientation or social class than another. That equal human dignity in turn requires States to respect and protect the equal human rights of every human being.”

He further said, “The right to life, as noted frequently in this Court’s jurisprudence, is the first of those rights because without it all other rights are rendered null and meaningless. The text of Article 4.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights places it beyond any reasonable dispute that in Inter-American human rights law, human beings are holders of the right to life even before birth, from the moment of conception.”

In conclusion, Carozza urged the court “to affirm unequivocally that the duty of States is to protect equally the human rights of both women and children, born and unborn.”

Carozza currently serves on the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) and is a member of the Oversight Board, an independent expert body created by Meta. He was previously a member of the U.S. State Department’s independent, nonpartisan advisory Commission on Unalienable Rights. Carozza founded and directs the Notre Dame Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law Lab. For over a decade he served as director of Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ and of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s J.S.D. program. His scholarly books and articles in the areas of comparative constitutional law and human rights law have been published widely in four languages.

To read this full story, click here.

A video of Carozza’s testimony is embedded below. Watch a video of the full hearing here.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on March 30.

Indiana eviction law 'falls short,' Notre Dame Clinical Law Center reports

2023-02-16T08:30:00-05:00

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s Eviction Clinic has published a report to examine how well Indiana’s eviction laws measure up to guidelines recently established by the American Bar Association.

The ABA’s House of Delegates created 10 recommendations for residential eviction law for state, local and other governing bodies to implement.

The recommendations include establishing steps to limit the stress that eviction judgments take on families by encouraging negotiated settlements, ensuring fairness in eviction hearings, limiting evictions in cases where renters are in compliance with their lease obligations or are able to quickly resolve any non-compliance, and sealing court records in appropriate cases so that families are not prevented from renting new homes.

The Law 91��Ƶ’s report, “Eviction Protections for Renters: Does Indiana Make the Grade?” was written by Robert Jones, clinical professor of law and associate dean for experiential programs, and David Pruitt, program director for the Notre Dame Clinical Law Center. Several students who work with the Eviction Clinic also helped with the report.

The report looks at each of the 10 ABA guidelines and then discusses how Indiana law measures up to each.

The report points out, for example, that Indiana renters may be evicted from their homes with little notice and without having violated their leases. Renters are rarely represented by attorneys and are required to defend themselves without knowledge of the law. Eviction hearings do not provide a complete opportunity for renters to present a defense. Eviction court records are not automatically sealed and the mere fact of having faced an eviction complaint may prevent a renter from passing screening for future housing.

“Roughly 800,000 Indiana households, including many of the state’s most vulnerable residents, are renters,” Jones said. “The goal of this report is to help Indiana policymakers think more comprehensively about how to ensure fairness and housing stability for those Hoosiers. This report is the first to look at Indiana’s eviction laws comprehensively and to compare them to a national standard. Indiana falls short.”

The report was commissioned by the Indiana Justice Project as a part of the Housing Equity for Infant Health Initiative. The lead partner in this initiative is the Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Initiative, located at Indiana University, Indianapolis.

“The law students and faculty of the Clinical Law Center have represented countless renters in eviction proceedings over the years,” said Pruitt. “We see on a daily basis how the shortcomings in Indiana law disadvantage renters. It is not an abstract issue, but rather a matter of human suffering and dislocation that affects children and adults alike. There are many ways, large and small, that Indiana laws could be reformed to achieve basic fairness.”

The report is based on many hours of student research and is informed by students’ firsthand experience representing renters in eviction court.

“Our students constantly think about how the law reflects our values and impacts the lives of their clients,” Pruitt said.

Jeanna James, a third-year law student who has represented numerous renters as a certified legal intern, added that she has seen how “the way the eviction laws work in practice magnifies the inequality between landlords and renters. Renters may be evicted for nearly any violation of their lease obligations, while landlords often violate their obligation to provide habitable homes with impunity.”

The other Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students who worked on the report are Thomas Haracz, Brigid O’Keefe, Kate O’Laughlin, Alexa Schykerynec, Michael Snyder and Drake Stobie.

Read the full report: Eviction Protections for Renters: Does Indiana Make the Grade?

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on Feb. 14.

Law 91��Ƶ serves community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

2023-01-24T13:00:00-05:00

Dean G. Marcus Cole sorts donated clothing at St. Margaret’s House.

“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

In the spirit of that call to action from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more than 100 Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students, faculty and staff spent time on Jan. 16 serving the greater South Bend community by volunteering for local nonprofit organizations during the Law 91��Ƶ’s second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

The volunteers made an immediate impact by preparing 5,000 meals, assembling 100 personal care kits, sorting 500 articles of clothing, planting 600 seedlings for future food and distributing 250 donations — and this is just a sampling.

The University of Notre Dame announced last year that Martin Luther King Jr. Day would be a holiday to allow members of the Notre Dame community to honor King’s legacy in their own way. The Law 91��Ƶ started its own tradition of honoring King’s dedication to service and fight for racial justice by offering the Law 91��Ƶ community the option to participate in a variety of service projects.

The idea for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was initiated by G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean of Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ.

“We started the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service as a way for us as a law school community to come together to give back in service to the community and in service to God,” said Cole. “As a Matthew 25 law school, Jesus commands us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the prisoners. We are trying to be good stewards of the blessings we have been given, and also use the opportunity we have to serve others, not sometime in the future, but to serve others right now.”

Law students put together vegetable soup kits on a Pack Away Hunger assembly line set up in Eck Commons.

Some of the service projects were completed at the Law 91��Ƶ, while other volunteers served at off-site locations.

More than 30 volunteers worked together in an assembly line in Eck Commons to pack meals for Pack Away Hunger. The organization’s mission is to eliminate hunger in Indiana and around the world through nutritious food, education and service.

Kathryn Hawkins, a 2002 graduate of the University and volunteer with Pack Away Hunger, led the group of ND Law students, faculty and staff.

“In northwest Indiana, nearly 100,000 individuals are food insecure, meaning they lack access to enough good, nutritious food for themselves and their families. Many people who are food insecure don’t qualify for government assistance, and must turn to food pantries,” said Hawkins. “The meals packed at this event will provide warm, healthy meals.”

The meals, vegetable soup starters, were assembled at the Law 91��Ƶ and delivered to the Clay Church food pantry in South Bend.

Adem Osmani, a first-year law student who helped prepare the meals, said, “I am proud that the Law 91��Ƶ provides opportunities for law students to serve the South Bend community. It is important that we give back and understand the importance of service while we are law students and preparing to be future attorneys. Service is an excellent way of honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and pursuing our mission of becoming a ‘different kind of lawyer.’”

Law 91��Ƶ staff member Cathy Kustner, left, makes a no-sew fleece blanket with the family of Professor Francisco Urbina, center.

Second-year law student Owyn Ferguson also worked on the Pack Away Hunger assembly line.

“I appreciate going to a law school that acknowledges this day not simply as a holiday but as a ‘day on’ and that there is some type of obligation to use the time to serve others,” said Ferguson. “That principle threads through what the Law 91��Ƶ encourages already — to use your gifts and opportunities for the betterment of others.”

Ferguson also thought that it was a great opportunity to do service work alongside his peers.

Another project at the Law 91��Ƶ was making no-sew fleece blankets for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana, Dismas House, St. Margaret’s House and the Center for the Homeless.

Third-year law student Carol Graffeo was one of the volunteers at the blanket-making station. The Ronald McDonald House was the charity her sorority supported when she was in college, so she saw that opportunity as a perfect fit.

“I thought the day of service was a great way to start off my last semester of law school with the right mindset,” said Graffeo.

Claire Ramsey, left, and Madeline Raster clean the kitchen at St. Margaret’s House.

Volunteers also assembled personal care kits for the residents of St. Margaret’s House, a day center for women and their children who live in economic poverty.

Members of the Law 91��Ƶ community brought in hundreds of donations of sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, gloves, coats, activity books and personal care items for the Center for the Homeless, Real Services and Dismas House. Volunteers on-site organized those donations and delivered them to the various organizations.

One of the remote sites for volunteers was St. Margaret’s House, where volunteers organized clothing that women who are part of the St. Margaret’s community can shop for free. Another team of volunteers did a deep clean of the kitchen. St. Margaret’s House feeds up to 100 women and children a day for breakfast and lunch, and provides a safe and nurturing environment for respite.

The staff at St. Margaret’s House all echoed how much dedicated volunteer work helps their mission, and how thankful they are for the volunteers who came to serve.

“Part of the reason I came to Notre Dame was because it was founded on service and its mission of educating ‘a different kind of lawyer,’” said second-year student Claire Ramsey, who helped clean the kitchen. “This day of service is a great opportunity to expand the Notre Dame community into the South Bend community and make sure we are carrying out the Law 91��Ƶ’s mission off-campus as well.”

From left, Vitaliia Mahas, Solomiia Humen and Adriana Hrytsyna — exchange students from Ukrainian Catholic University — sort and fold clothing at the Center for the Homeless in South Bend.

Fifteen volunteers spent time at the Center for the Homeless working in their donation room, sorting and organizing hundreds of clothing items for children and adults.

First-year student Nick Munsen decided to volunteer at the Center for the Homeless because he believed the work there captures a major part of the teachings of King, especially of addressing inequalities.

“Racial and wealth inequality are closely tied together in our community in South Bend and across the nation. In serving the economically marginalized here, we also address a key consequence and driver of racial inequality,” said Munsen. “This kind of service reminds me that, as law students, we have been given opportunities many others have not, and must use our skills for the benefit of those most in need. Not participating in direct service poses a real risk to ourselves and to society as a whole, as we need to be consistently reminded of our mission. Service reminds me what ND Law is all about.”

Adriana Hrytsyna, one of three exchange students this semester from Ukrainian Catholic University, also worked at the Center for the Homeless and said, “Being from Ukraine, we volunteer a lot. We have a lot of experience and this is an opportunity to share it with other cultures and show that all of us should do something good to make this world a better place for everyone.”

Manuela Correa plants lettuce seeds in trays at Green Bridge Growers in Mishawaka.

Volunteers also went to Green Bridge Growers, an innovative venture that grows fresh food and provides jobs for those with autism. There they planted seedlings, reconfigured the plumbing system in the aquaponics greenhouse, and painted the stands that house plants under cultivation.

In addition, a team of volunteers did maintenance and deep cleaning at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana.

The day of service was not just limited to those on the main campus. Law students studying in London with the Notre Dame London Law Programme also participated in service projects on Monday.

Eight students worked with Refuge Network UK. They packed meals and served lunch at an outdoor soup kitchen and handed out meal kits to homeless people, also known as “rough sleepers,” in various parts of London. Other volunteers worked with the Felix Project, a London-based food redistribution charity that connects the surplus produced by the food industry to the millions of adults and children in the United Kingdom who struggle to afford to eat every day.

Professor Michael Addo and students in the London Law Programme serve lunch at an outdoor soup kitchen with Refuge Network UK.

The Law 91��Ƶ faculty participated in a number of the service projects as well. Professor Dan Kelly was among the volunteers who chaperoned children from Hope Ministries at a movie and provided them with companionship.

“My parents were active in the civil rights movement, and both attended King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech in Washington, D.C. So from a very young age they taught my brother and me the equality and human dignity of each person,” said Kelly.

“Participating in the Hope Ministries service project, and witnessing so many other service projects in which a hundred of my colleagues — faculty, staff and students — were able to participate from Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, was a wonderful opportunity for prayer, reflection and service,” he said.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on Jan. 18.

US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett to speak at ND Law Review symposium

2022-01-24T09:00:00-05:00

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett will deliver the keynote address at the Notre Dame Law Review’s 2022 Federal Courts Symposium at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 14 (Monday) in the Law 91��Ƶ’s McCartan Courtroom.

Due to limited seating in the McCartan Courtroom, in-person attendance at Barrett’s speech will be open only to Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ students and faculty, students in Notre Dame’s Constitutional 91��Ƶ Program and members of the media.

Barrett graduated from Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ in 1997 and joined the faculty as a professor of law in 2002. She served as executive editor of the Law Review when she was a student and later served as its faculty adviser for many years.

In 2017, she was appointed as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She remained a Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ faculty member and continued to teach part-time after her judicial appointment. She was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2020.

“For more than two decades, Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ was blessed by Justice Barrett’s brilliant scholarship, devoted teaching and thoughtful approach to legal questions,” said G. Marcus Cole, the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ. “We look forward to welcoming her back to the Law 91��Ƶ for this year’s Federal Courts Symposium.”

The 2022 Federal Courts Symposium, titled “The Nature of the Federal Equity Power,” will focus on that which remains unsettled about the qualitative nature of the federal equity power, its relationship vis-à-vis law and its proper scope within the broader constitutional system of law. The symposium will feature several panels of prominent legal scholars who will address these complex questions from historical, judicial and academic perspectives.

The papers from the symposium will be published in the Federal Courts issue, one of Law Review’s five annual issues and dedicated specifically to topics in the area of federal courts, practice and procedure.

“Our current volume of the Notre Dame Law Review marks the 25th anniversary of Justice Barrett’s tenure as executive editor of the journal. In that role, Justice Barrett laid the foundations for the Federal Courts issue. We are honored and grateful that Justice Barrett will return to Notre Dame and serve as the keynote speaker of the Federal Courts issue’s symposium,” said third-year law student Aiste Zalepuga, editor-in-chief of the Notre Dame Law Review.

John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law Nicole Stelle Garnett serves as the Notre Dame Law Review’s faculty adviser.

“We are honored that Justice Barrett will participate in the symposium. Not only did she play an important role in establishing the Federal Courts Symposium, but she served for many years as adviser to the Law Review. We are delighted to welcome her home,” Garnett said.

The symposium will be Barrett’s second visit to Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ during the 2021-22 academic year. She returned to campus at the beginning of the fall semester to teach an intensive, one-week course on statutory interpretation to third-year law students.

Religious Liberty Initiative represents Muslim voices defending Jewish groups subject to discriminatory COVID-19 closures

2020-11-20T15:00:00-05:00

Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s Religious Liberty Initiative has filed three amicus briefs, including one at the U.S. Supreme Court, representing Muslim organizations and scholars in defense of Jewish groups that have been shut down by discriminatory COVID-19 closures in New York City.

The first brief was filed Oct. 22 in New York federal court in support of an Orthodox Jewish girl’s school. The second brief was filed Oct. 26 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in support of Orthodox Jewish synagogues. The Religious Liberty Initiative filed a third brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 17 also in support of Orthodox Jewish synagogues.

The amicus briefs provide historical context for ways in which the government has scapegoated religious minorities during times of uncertainty or crisis. They caution that New York is following that troubling pattern with its recent COVID-19 policies explicitly singling out Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods for disfavored treatment.

“The filing of these briefs marks a significant milestone in the development of our emerging Religious Liberty Initiative,” said Stephanie Barclay, associate professor of law and a First Amendment scholar who is helping launch the Law 91��Ƶ’s Religious Liberty Initiative.

The Religious Liberty Initiative’s first student cohort consists of Alyson Cox, Alexandra Howell, Daniel Judge, Dan Loesing and Hadyn Pettersen.

“I’m proud of the impressive work our students have done as part of the Religious Liberty Initiative,” Barclay said. “These recent briefs involved a Catholic institution representing Muslim organizations defending Orthodox Jewish plaintiffs. This type of work highlights the best of our religious liberty traditions, where people of different faiths are willing to advocate for each other.”

The amicus briefs represented the views of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Religious Freedom Institute’s Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team, and law and religion scholar Asma Uddin. The brief points out that “too often, religious minorities have served as scapegoats in times of sickness, war, and fear — from Jews during the Black Death, to Jehovah’s Witnesses during WWII, to Muslims after 9/11. Latest in a long and troubling line of such incidents are the statements and policies of Governor [Andrew] Cuomo blaming Orthodox Jewish communities for the spread of COVID-19 ... , all despite a dearth of evidence.”

Ismail Royer, director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute, said, “We are profoundly grateful to the Notre Dame Religious Liberty Initiative for working with us on this amicus brief. Professor Barclay and her students had a deep intuition for the arguments we wanted to make before the court. A Muslim voice would not have been heard in this case without them.”

Third-year law student Daniel Judge said, “One of the important points made in the amicus brief is that there is a long and unfortunate history of unjustly targeting religious minorities during times of crisis. I’m proud to have worked on a brief that defends all religions and provides a voice for minority communities. The Religious Liberty Initiative has been one of my best experiences in law school. It has given me the opportunity to work on real cases in an area I hope to practice in throughout my career.”

Cuomo has argued that his blunt policy, targeting Jewish neighborhoods more than other COVID-19 hot spots, is necessary to help “the anxiety come down.” But the briefs all point out that the “First Amendment does not sanction religious bigotry as a form of anxiety management.”

Third-year law student Alexandra Howell said, “Being part of the Religious Liberty Initiative has helped me realize that I am in law school not to just be a student, but to learn how to be a lawyer that can make a positive difference. It is a powerful reminder of God's calling for my life and all the opportunities for service in the law.”

In addition, Howell adds that she is very proud to be involved in helping make the statement that no matter the crisis, the First Amendment does not allow governments to use religious minorities as a scapegoat.

Third-year law student Alyson Cox agrees. “This amicus brief is a beautiful representation of inter-religious solidarity in the face of persecution. The chance to work on this case was one of the most meaningful parts of my law school experience, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be part of the Religious Liberty Initiative,” Cox said.

Second-year law student Daniel Loesing said, “I am delighted to be a part of the Religious Liberty Initiative at Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ, and I look forward to continuing to defend religious liberty for all, in service of God, Our Lady and our fellow citizens.”

The Law 91��Ƶ announced early this year the formation of a Religious Liberty Clinic that will train future Notre Dame lawyers to defend religious freedom by pursuing claims in trial courts as well as appeals up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justices Gorsuch and Alito cite ND Law faculty in Supreme Court opinions

2019-06-28T16:00:00-04:00

Three Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ faculty members were cited in two U.S. Supreme Court cases on Wednesday (June 26).

Barry Cushman, the John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law, was cited by Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion for the court in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas. Professors Jeffrey Pojanowski and Randy Kozel were cited by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch in a concurring opinion in Kisor v. Wilkie.

Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association dealt with the constitutionality of residency requirements for retail liquor sales. In his opinion, Alito cited Cushman’s work, "Formalism and Realism in Commerce Clause Jurisprudence," to demonstrate the important role the Commerce Clause has played in the economic history of the country.

The court in Kisor reconsidered the so-called Auer doctrine of administrative law, which governs administrative agencies’ interpretations of their own regulations. In his concurring opinion, Gorsuch cited Pojanowski’s work in "Revisiting Seminole Rock," which argues that Auer rests on a misunderstanding of its originating case, the 1945 decision Bowles v. Seminole Rock, and that Seminole Rock implies a less-deferential standard of rule and Congress likely codified this less-deferential approach in legislation on judicial review of agency action.

Kozel, who also serves as Notre Dame Law 91��Ƶ’s associate dean for faculty development and directs the Program on Constitutional Structure, was also cited by Gorsuch. He cited Kozel’s article, "Statutory Interpretation, Administrative Deference, and the Law of Stare Decisis," which discusses the precedential effect of judicial decisions that set out wide-ranging principles of interpretation for future cases.

Originally published by Denise Wager at law.nd.edu on June 28.