Summer Opportunity with the MacArthur Justice Center’s
Supreme Court & Appellate Program (Washington, D.C.)
The Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center’s Supreme Court & Appellate Program is accepting applications from students who are interested in spending the summer working on appellate litigation and are passionate about criminal justice issues.
Students will work from the organization’s Washington, D.C. office. Students will work principally on appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal circuit courts, or state courts of appeal, which raise important issues related to civil rights and the criminal justice system. Students will also likely be involved in trial court litigation over the summer. Students will have the opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the office’s ongoing appellate cases, including performing research and drafting legal analysis for briefs that will be filed in federal court. Students will gain exposure to the broader appellate process, which may include participation in client interaction and strategic decision-making, analysis of factual records, and participation in moot oral arguments (depending upon the stage of their assigned matters).
MJC is one of the nation’s premier civil rights organizations and champions criminal justice reform through litigation, in areas that include police misconduct, rights of the accused, issues facing indigent prisoners, the death penalty, and the rights of detainees. The organization’s Supreme Court & Appellate Program and Washington, D.C. office focus specifically on appellate litigation as a vehicle for achieving change in these areas. Examples of issues raised in MJC appeals include:
- Unsettled questions of criminal procedure under the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments (search & seizure, privilege against self-incrimination, right to a jury, right to counsel);
- Issues facing indigent prisoners, including the constitutional rights of prisoners to be free from cruel and unusual treatment by prison officials and access to courts;
- Constitutional challenges to the use of solitary confinement in the prison system;
- Challenges to certain discriminatory executive actions outside of the criminal justice system, including discriminatory practices of Immigrations and Custom Enforcement and discrimination against Muslim travelers at the border.
Compensation may be available for students unable to obtain summer funding from their law schools.
Students interested in this opportunity should submit a cover letter, resume, transcript, and an unedited writing sample to dc@macarthurjustice.org as soon as possible. We will begin hiring on a rolling basis immediately.