Bill of Rights, Civil Rights Litigation Clinic
Students in the Bill of Rights Clinic (CBR) are trained in case intake and interviewing, client counseling, fact investigation, case analysis, negotiation, research, drafting of memos and other pleadings and documents. Cases are selected from a broad range of potential referral sources.
The leading referral source for the CBR cases is the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NAACP.
Partnership with Pittsburgh Chapter of the NAACP
A signature relationship has been developed with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the NAACP. In this innovative partnership, NAACP staff and volunteers will work with the CBR clinic students and the supervising attorney to create a comprehensive intake and referral system for civil rights and other legal complaints. Students will prepare and conduct training sessions for the NAACP on the application of a refined and systemized intake and referral process. Any potentially viable civil rights complaints identified through this process will be referred to the CBR Clinic or when necessary to other appropriate sources for assistance.
Partnership with United States Magistrate Court, Western District of Pennsylvania and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Student attorneys working in the Bill of Rights Clinic will represent pro se prisoner litigants in prisoners' rights cases filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Students will also have the opportunity to represent pro se prisoner litigants in appeals filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. These partnerships provide the students with an opportunity to experience federal and appellate practice.
Faculty
Working under the supervision of Adjunct Clinical Professors Tracey McCants Lewis L’00 and Adrian Roe, students have the opportunity to gain practical experience litigating civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and other federal laws.
Students Participate in Oral Argument Before Federal Courts
Bill of Rights Clinic News
Two Duquesne University School of law students, Carolyn Slayton and Nathan Ward, presented oral arguments before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Wilson v. Superintendant of SCI Huntingdon, et.al. They were supervised by Adjunct Professor Adrian Roe and Acting Director of Clinical Education Tracey McCants lewis. Post-Gazette article >
In addition, the Court also posted the audio from the argument. (Click on audio link, then click on 11-1720 Wilson v. Superintendant.wma)
Left to Right; Bridget Sasson, Carolyn Slayton, Nathan Ward, Dean Ken Gormley
Awards and Distinctions
The Bill of Rights Clinic was honored as the recipient of the Pittsburgh NAACP’s President’s Award for Outstanding Community and Legal Support for the Underrepresented. The Clinic received the award at the 55th Annual Human Rights Dinner on May 7, 2009. Press release
