Honored by the AALS

Christina Luwisch has been named to the Inaugural Pro Bono Honor Roll by the AALS and the Section on Pro Bono Access to Justice. The Pro Bono Honor Roll recognizes Christina for "exceptional work engaging in, expanding, and/or supporting your law school community in providing pro bono legal services." 

Preserving Families

Ramona Fernandez, Deputy Director of the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice, has agreed to join the Family Preservation Court team. This is a new initiative administered by the Louisiana Supreme Court Drug and Specialty Court Program that aims to assist families struggling with addiction. Team members will provide legal, medical, and social services to families who volunteer to seek treatment for addiction and follow a plan prescribed by the program. In this new role, Professor Fernandez will educate parents on the parameters of the program and their rights and responsibilities.

Clinic Director's Recent Successes

The U.S. State Department named Professor Davida Finger a Fulbright Specialist for the next 3 years.  The Fulbright Specialist program matches U.S. academics and professionals with significant expertise with the opportunity to complete short term project-based exchanges designed by institutions around the world. Professor Finger's focus is on collaboration with experiential curricula and law clinic programs.

Also, research by Professor Finger is cited in the Times-Picayune, ProPublica, Salon, MSNBC and news outlets nationwide as new data shows that the federally operated Road Home program implemented after Hurricane Katrina favored the wealthy and “shortchanged the poor.”

Youth Justice Section Success

In the Fall of 2022, the Youth Justice section filed a federal civil rights suit seeking an injunction and class-wide relief after the state announced plans to move youth in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Justice to a facility on the grounds of the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Although the preliminary injunction was not granted, clinic students remain actively involved in ongoing litigation efforts to obtain permanent relief.

Supervised by Professor Hector Linares

Family Law Section Success

Congratulations to Aspen Murphy, Jessica Barton, and Kevin Michot, student practitioners from the Family Law section. These students were granted a Protective Order for their child client in the 24th Judicial District Court, Parish of Jefferson. The case was heard by the Honorable Stephen Enright. The practitioners admitted exhibits, questioned their witness and gave a compelling closing argument. The record is under seal.

Supervised by Professor Cheryl Buchert

Children's Rights Section Success

Congratulations to Soren Lannes and Madison Tuck, Children's Rights section students for the 2022-2023 academic year, who conducted a two-day termination of parental rights trial. After successfully presenting evidence and arguments, the court rendered a judgement of adoption for the maternal grandparents of our 9-year-old client. The case was heard by the Honorable Amanda Chauvin Calogero, Juvenile Court Judge of Jefferson Parish.

Supervised by Professor Ramona Fernandez

Fall 2022 Justice Journal

Click below to see the full Fall 2022 Justice Journal, the newsletter for the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice. The Justice Journal newsletter contains updates, new projects, and highlights of section successes in the Law Clinic. Look out for the next newsletter to stay updated on the latest clinic news. Read past newsletters here.

Fall 2022 newsletter