The National Security Clinic offers students the opportunity to work directly on issues relating to the government’s counter-terrorism efforts both domestic and abroad. Students in the clinic work on a wide variety of legal issues, including: the detention, treatment, and prosecution of alleged terrorists; the designation and closing of charitable organizations on allegations of terrorism financing; military justice issues such as the jurisdiction and procedures of military commissions; the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment impacts of national security policies; and the scope of executive powers during wartime. In past semesters, students have participated in federal court litigation in civil, criminal, and habeas cases before district courts and appellate courts, either through direct representation of parties or through amici. Students have also worked on legislative and advocacy projects and drafted legal materials for policymakers. While honing their lawyering skills through casework, students will also explore the intersections of national security law, international humanitarian law, and human rights.
UT Law’s new National Security & Human Rights Clinic is one of a handful of law school clinics that directly represent detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On December 5, 2007, arguments they created will be presented before the United States Supreme Court in the Al Odah litigation, which will determine if detainees at Guantánamo have the right to present their Geneva Conventions claims in federal court. Read more …