King Hall Students Argue Before U.S. Appellate Court
The strength of the UC Davis School of Law clinical programs has been and will continue to be on display this fall as King Hall students make arguments before the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeal, the highest federal appeals court in the Western states, on three separate occasions as part of their work with the King Hall clinics.
On October 20, Professor Holly Cooper and student Carolyn Hsu '09 argued before the Ninth Circuit representing a man with a colorable claim to U.S. citizenship detained by the Department of Homeland Security. Appearing on behalf of the King Hall Immigrant Detention Project-a collaboration of the Civil Rights Clinic, Immigration Law Clinic, and Prison Law Clinic-Hsu urged the Court of Appeals to reverse a district court ruling denying a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Jessica Zweng '09 helped to prepare the argument.
Erin Haney '08 made an oral argument before the Ninth Circuit in a special session the court held October 29 at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. With direction from Professor Carter White, Haney argued on behalf of a man who claimed his constitutional rights were violated when he was deprived of outdoor exercise during a two-year period of incarceration. Last year, a Sacramento federal trial court ruled in his favor, awarding damages, and the October 29 was a hearing of an appeal by state prison administrators.
On November 17, Andrew Slade '09 will argue the appeal of a man who sued a prison doctor and nurse for problems arising from medical care he received while incarcerated. In February 2007 a federal jury had ruled against him, and the appeal challenges several of the trial judge's rulings excluding evidence such as expert testimony from a medical doctor.
The students' appearances before the court are part of their work with the UC Davis School of Law clinical programs, which offer students real-world experience in advocating for the rights of prisoners, immigrants, and others.