Civil Rights Clinic students present oral argument at Ninth Circuit

On April 19, students from the Civil Rights Clinic presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

Hannah Moravec ’19 and Allie Watson ’19 represented the appellant in Cruz v. Betancourt, an appeal by a state prisoner in a civil rights case.

The case involves exhaustion of administrative remedies and retaliation by a correctional officer for filing a prison grievance. The students authored the briefs for the appeal. They are supervised by Professor Carter White, director of the Civil Rights Clinic.

Several King Hall professors assisted in preparing the students for the argument, including Gabriel “Jack” Chin, Jasmine Harris, Irene Joe, Carlton Larson, and Brian Soucek.

The Civil Rights Clinic allows students to advocate for the civil rights of prisoners and other indigents. The clinic provides students with litigation experience, especially in federal district court. In a typical semester, students may do client intakes; meet with clients and witnesses; draft pleadings and written discovery; take depositions; appear before federal judges; meet with opposing counsel; and draft, file and argue dispositive motions.