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University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law

Contact Information
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Location
4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
United States
See map: Google Maps
Chapter Contacts
  • Alysia Robben - President, alysiarobben[at]gmail.com
  • Elliott Teel - Vice President, esteel[at]starpower.net
  • Jennifer Valentine - Treasurer, jennifervalentine[at]comcast.net
Recent Stories

Immigration Panel

On November 19, 2007, the University of the District of Columbia’s Latino(a) Law Student Association and the American Constitution Society hosted a discussion of misconceptions about Latino immigrants in the United States. The goal of the University of the District Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law’s (UDC-DCSL) event was to present balanced and accurate statistics, and allow Latino immigrants to share their personal experiences. The panelists included Fernando Colon-Navarro, a graduate of Harvard University Law School and professor of law at Southern Texas University; Panravee Vongjaroenrat, the Director of Immigration and Refugee Ministries for United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR); and Dr. Jeffrey Passel, senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center. The panel also featured two Latino immigrants – a day laborer and a labor/community organizer from Northern Virginia. The panel was moderated by third-year UDC law student Yesenia Polanco, a daughter of Latino immigrants from El Salvador. Approximately 70 UDC law students and professors attended the panel, which featured delicious Salvadorian cuisine.

"Busted! Know Your Rights" October 18, 2007

UDC event "Busted"
UDC event "Busted"




On October 18, 2007, students at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) took some time out of their class schedules to learn about their rights in police encounters. UDC’s American Constitutional Society (UDC-ACS) teamed up with UDC’s Drug Policy Reform Group (DPRG) to stage the Know Your Rights! Presentation Part 1. This event featured lunch, a trivia session, and a video. "Busted," the video produced by the Flex Your Rights Foundation, featured three police encounter situations commonly faced by young people: the traffic stop in a rural area, the noisy house party, and the ID check on the street. For each encounter, the video offered an example of what not to do followed by a re-enactment of how a person who knows their rights should coolly handle the situation. DPRG President Anthony Dimillo asked questions about citizens’ rights before the video to survey what the audience knew. After the video, many audience members were surprised to discover the true status of their rights against law enforcement officers. Not surprisingly, a lively discussion ensued.
The Know Your Rights! Presentation Part 1 was held at UDC’s David A. Clarke School of Law and had a great turnout of UDC undergraduates, law students, and professors, approximately fifty people in all. Professor Margaret Moore and the Department of Urban Affairs Social Sciences & Social Work of UDC greatly contributed to the success of this event.
ACS coordinators were particularly pleased with the undergraduate turnout and the high level of involvement by the audience. UDC-ACS strongly believes that an increased dialogue between the David A. Clarke School of Law and the greater UDC community is beneficial to all schools and crucial to enhancing a marketplace of ideas.
UDC’s Drug Policy Reform Group may be contacted at DPRGOFUDC@GMAIL. COM

DC Pilot Mentorship Program


The ACS national office, ACS’s Washington, DC Lawyer Chapter and ACS’s Georgetown University Law Center are proud to announce the launch of the DC Student/Lawyer Mentorship Pilot Program.

Since 2001, ACS has grown exponentially from a small campus organization to a national network of progressive scholars, judges, practitioners, advocates, public officials and law students. ACS and its members strive to ensure that the fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality and access to justice are in their rightful place in American law. As evidenced by our conservative counterparts, a vital tool in achieving our mission is to create a means by which more senior members can provide career and professional guidance to those more junior. To this end, we have developed a student/lawyer mentorship program in Washington, DC.

In the coming years, ACS hopes to expand this to a national mentorship program in which senior members from various legal career paths will be paired with mid-level attorneys, recent graduate and law student members. This pilot program will match DC Lawyer Chapter members with DC area student chapter members. Participating student chapters include: American, Catholic, George Mason, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, Maryland and the University of the District of Columbia. To the extent possible, matches will be made based on employment sector and substantive interest area. Please bear with us as this program develops.

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