Professor Johns, King Hall Honored by Ninth Circuit Court

Professor Margaret Johns and the UC Davis School of Law were recognized for providing pro bono representation for appellants before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at a reception at the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco on March 24.

Since 1995, the Ninth Circuit pro bono program has provided representation for about 200 appellants each year in cases selected by the court because they appear to have substantial merit but the clients are not represented by legal counsel.  The track record for the pro bono program is remarkable; pro bono counsel are successful in the Ninth Circuit 50 percent of the time.  The court initiated the program with volunteer help from lawyer representatives of the judicial districts within the circuit.  A lawyer representative or designee coordinates the program within each district by recruiting pro bono volunteers, maintaining the pro bono panel roster, and placing cases referred by the court with pro bono counsel. 

Professor Johns, who acted as lawyer representative for the Eastern District of California, has coordinated the program for the Eastern District since the program's inception.  She received a certificate of appreciation from the court for her service.  UC Davis School of Law was recognized as one of two schools offering faculty-supervised programs in which third-year law students take pro bono cases, conduct research, write briefs and argue cases before the Ninth Circuit. Because of Professor Johns' role as a lawyer representative, pro bono coordinator, and founder of the King Hall Civil Rights Clinic, UC Davis is the only school that has been involved since the program's beginning.