Oct. 22, 2020—Amid stay-at-home orders and uncertainty over the availability of summer jobs, Cloe Anderson ’21, Grace Ko ’21 and Sarah Dvorak ’22 turned their concern into action. Working fully remotely with Professor Karla McKanders in the Immigration Practice Clinic, the students helped to pass Metro Council resolution RS 2020-433, which supports communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19....
Oct. 22, 2020—During spring and summer 2020, the Turner Family Community Enterprise Clinic represented human trafficking survivor and criminal justice reform advocate Cyntoia Brown-Long. After her case received national attention, Gov. Bill Haslam granted Brown-Long clemency in 2019 after she had served a 15-year sentence for killing a man who had paid to have sex with her...
Oct. 22, 2020—The Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic, representing Tennesseans for Sensible Election Laws, a nonprofit advocacy group, recently prevailed in a case that sought to declare unconstitutional a Tennessee election law that criminalized false speech in opposition to a political candidate. TSEL planned to distribute a mailer criticizing a state representative. Because statements in the mailer...
Oct. 22, 2020—In the summer of 2020, Assistant Dean for Public Interest Spring Miller launched a workers’ rights initiative in conjunction with the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services in response to the access to justice crisis for vulnerable Tennessee workers precipitated by the pandemic. This fall, six students are enrolled in the Worker Advocacy Practicum that grew...
Oct. 22, 2020—Professor Jennifer Prusak will launch a new Housing Law Clinic at Vanderbilt in spring 2021. Students in the clinic will work under her supervision to represent tenants facing eviction proceedings, advance Fair Housing Act claims on behalf of disabled clients, and advocate for affordable and accessible housing in Nashville. Prusak joined the law faculty at...
Oct. 21, 2020—Through enrolling in the Vanderbilt Legal Clinic, students sharpen their legal skills and have an opportunity to put their commitment to public service into practice. From representing clients who could not otherwise afford a lawyer, to helping build businesses in under served communities, and beyond, students in each clinic work to help build a world...