Prisoners' Rights Clinic
In the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, students represent incarcerated persons in civil rights cases challenging violations of constitutional rights.
Representing real clients, students perform all of the varied tasks that arise in civil litigation, including interviewing clients, undertaking factual investigations, drafting complaints, drafting and responding to motions, requesting discovery and addressing discovery disputes, taking depositions, responding to motions for summary judgment, engaging in settlement discussions, attending conferences and hearings in court, and holding trials.
Students work under the direct supervision of the clinic director, a full-time faculty member, who provides regular feedback and guidance.
The cases brought by the clinic challenge conditions of confinement that amount to cruel and unusual punishment, including the use of excessive force by correctional officers, deprivations of fundamental rights like the freedom of religion, and denials of access to medical care and mental health care.
The clinic involves a seminar component on the substance of prisoners’ rights and the procedures for challenging deprivations of prisoners’ rights. It is a 6-credit clinic, which requires a minimum commitment of 15 hours per week on client work.
Close Course Type DescriptionsCourse Types
We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.
Core Course
Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility. Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.
Elective
After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses. Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.
Seminar
Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.
Clinics/Externships
Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor. RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.
