The National Security Clinic offers students the unique opportunity to work directly on issues relating to the government’s investigation, prosecution, and detention policies in its counter-terrorism efforts both domestic and abroad. Students in the clinic will work on a wide variety of issues, including: the detention and treatment of persons alleged to be unlawful combatants; the designation and closing of charitable organizations on allegations of terrorism financing; military justice, courts-martial and the treatment of civilian contractors and soldiers during wartime; the intersections of national security and the freedoms of speech, association, and religion; the scope of executive powers during wartime; and national security justifications for warrantless searches and seizures and other invasions of privacy. In past semesters, students have engaged in direct representation, written amicus briefs, and participated in district court civil and habeas litigation. Students have also worked on legislative and regulatory projects and drafted materials for policymakers. Students will hone lawyering skills while exploring broader issues relating to the law of war, national security, and civil rights and civil liberties.
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 …