Law, Justice and Human Rights

The Bill of Rights guarantees all Americans protection against unreasonable search and seizure, infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, access to legal counsel, and a speedy and public trial. Yet the United States, long the beacon for freedom and liberty world-wide, is often cited for abuse of human rights.

Not since the turn of the 20th century, have issues of human rights provoked such heated controversy as they have in the past ten years. Racial profiling, water boarding and other tortures, Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons, suppression of information, invasion of privacy are all hot issues in the war on terror.

And no place will these issues be more sharply discussed than in Washington, D. C. in the summer of 2008 on the eve of the most pivotal presidential election in half a century. As a student in Law, Justice, and Human Rights, you are there.

You're week-long investigation will probe these crucial issues, topics ring in the rhetoric of the presidential campaigns and that fill blogs, newscasts, the nation's front pages, the docket of the U. S. Supreme Court.

America is a nation founded on justice and civil law. From leading jurists, professors of law, advocates, and attorneys you will gain an in-depth perspective on the legal system. You will research cases pending before our federal courts, prepare briefs and oral arguments, and present them to distinguished attorneys filling the roles of justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In addition, you'll query practicing attorneys, judges, and law clerks about preparation for a career in law. And you'll laugh as the Capitol Steps caricature candidates for the nation's highest office with satirical song and vignettes.

Students gain insight into the justice system by interacting with individuals who work in the highest courts in America. This program offers an in-depth look at the federal legal system and issues such as freedom and order in a democratic society and students rights. Presidential Classroom Scholars also participate in a Moot Court, where students prepare briefs and argue constitutional cases before the student body. The American Association of Law Schools helped develop this program.

Program Highlights

• Supreme Court briefing
• Special seminars with legal experts, FBI agents and a constitutional law professor
• Seminar on the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Student Moot Court (Supreme Court Closing Arguments)
• Visits to prominent Washington, D.C. law firms
• Group discussions with lawyers, law clerks or law students
• Capitol Hill Visits