A recent $687,000 gift from the Arnold & Porter Foundation to the University of Denver will create two new endowed scholarships at the Sturm College of Law to support outstanding students with a demonstrated commitment to civil liberties and civil rights. The gift also will support a strategic litigation fund designed to advance the nationally recognized work of the law school’s Civil Rights Clinic, part of its No. 8-ranked clinical program.
For one week this summer, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law hosted 20 rising high school juniors who immersed themselves in the legal profession. Through the Journey to JD (J2JD) program, founded by the Center for Legal Inclusiveness (CLI), this diverse range of students gained a basic understanding of the legal system and were empowered to explore a career in law.
Click here to look through a year of accomplishments...
August 16 – DENVER – The University of Denver Sturm College of Law transformed its #14-ranked (U.S. News & World Report) part-time JD program to make it more accessible to students with competing professional or familial commitments. Effective fall 2018, students admitted into the Professional Part-Time JD Program can complete all of their required courses in a convenient hybrid format, through a combination of state-of-the-art online instruction and weekend on-campus classes.
The Civil Rights Clinic (CRC) has had an exciting and eventful past few months. In June, the CRC reached a tentative settlement agreement in a case brought on behalf of a transgender individual confined in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The settlement was finalized in September, and two of the student attorneys provide a reflection of their work on that case below. In July, the CRC secured the release of a federal prisoner after over two years litigating his post-conviction claim. The government immediately appealed, and we are continuing to litigate that appeal. In the interim, we are happy that our client is home with his family. Finally, in August, the CRC tried a case in federal court brought on behalf of a federal prisoner challenging the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ infringement of his religious rights. A student attorney who worked on that case for the past year provides a second reflection of her experiences below.
Associate Professor Patience Crowder
Impact Transaction: Lawyering for the Public Good through Collective Impact Agreements, 49 Indiana L. Rev. 621 (2016) (reprinted in 48 ELR 10681, 2018).
With Professor Walker Sterling returned from her year-long Fulbright, the Criminal Defense Clinic is once again being co-taught by Professors Walker Sterling and Lasch. The Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC) represents indigent members of Denver’s community who are accused of crimes in municipal, misdemeanor, and county courts in and around the Denver area. Typical cases include assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, failure to obey a lawful order from a peace officer, disturbing the peace, and harassment. The Criminal Defense Clinic also represents juvenile clients, and has several juvenile court cases as well.
The Sturm College of Law is honored to announce that the Board of Trustees of the University of Denver approved the promotions of seven Denver Law faculty members, effective August 1, 2018: Bernard Chao, Christopher Lasch, and Justin Pidot to the rank of Professor of Law; Kevin Lynch and Lindsey Webb to the rank of Associate Professor of Law, with tenure; and Samantha Galvin and Erin Stearns to the rank of Associate Professor of the Practice of Taxation.
