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Righting wrongs

Clinic cases give students opportunities to make a difference

From a 13-year-old girl who deserved a lawyer in a truancy hearing, to a father who didn't want to be separated from his young son, students and faculty from the Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic have made a real difference in their clients' lives this year.

Professor Won Kidane and the students from the Immigration Law Clinic won three clients the right to stay in this country after successfully arguing against their deportation. Professor Bob Boruchowitz and two students filed a case that led to an appellate court ruling that juveniles are entitled to counsel in truancy hearings.

And last summer, two students from the International Human Rights Clinic and Professor Tom Anktowiak traveled to Costa Rica to argue before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the highest tribunal for human rights matters in the hemisphere.

Professor Paul Holland, director of the clinic, says these are examples of what can happen when students and faculty engage the law through the life of a client.

The school has run an Immigration Clinic for many years, but Kidane has redirected and enlarged the clinic's activity to include the cases of clients at risk of deportation.

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