This page highlights notable accomplishments and activities of current students – including clinic cases, honors, awards, student events, media mentions, books published, fellowships received, and community service. If you are a current student, we encourage you to submit story ideas and photos for inclusion on this page. If you have recently published an op-ed, were cited or quoted in the media, or published a paper, please tell us about it here. Student prizes are awarded annually.
News
In “Historic” Decision, Veterans Court Will Allow Class Actions
In a decision Chief Judge Robert Davis described as “seismic,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, acting en banc, yesterday issued an opinion unanimously holding that veterans may bring class actions against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Dean Gerken Welcomes Class of 2021
Dean Heather Gerken welcomed the Class of 2021 during convocation ceremonies on August 20, 2018. Of the 204 members of the Class of 2021, 46 percent are students of color, 27 percent are first generation professionals, and nine percent are the first in their family to go to college.
SFALP Sanctuary City Ruling Upheld by Ninth Circuit
In a significant victory for Yale Law clinic students and the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a district court ruling invalidating the Trump administration’s efforts to defund sanctuary cities.
WIRAC Mobilizes to Reunite Families
When students and faculty from WIRAC realized two children had been separated from their parents at the southern border and shipped thousands of miles away to Connecticut, they immediately jumped into action.
Yale Scholars Tackle Opioid Crisis in Groundbreaking Journal Issue
More than two dozen Yale professors, doctors, and students have published a series of groundbreaking articles on the opioid crisis in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.
MFIA, CRIT Sue Government Over Clinical Trial Data
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic has filed suit against the federal government asking agencies to comply with their legal obligations to notify the public of researchers’ failure to report clinical trial results on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Government Releases Immigrant Children Held in Connecticut
On July 16, the government filed a notice in federal court promising to release 9-year-old JSR and 14-year-old VFB from custody, grant parole to their detained parents, and reunite the children and their parents on parole.
Report Published on Yemeni American Families Stranded in Djibouti Due to Travel Ban
In a new report titled “Window Dressing the Muslim Ban: Reports of Waivers and Mass Denials from Yemeni-American Families Stuck in Limbo,” the Rule of Law Clinic and the Center for Constitutional Rights document the Travel Ban’s impact on families.
Federal Judge Holds Forcible Separation of Immigrant Children Unconstitutional
U.S. District Court Judge Victor Bolden declared unconstitutional the federal government’s forcible separation of two immigrant children from their parents, and ordered the government to take immediate steps to ameliorate the grave harm it has caused.