Our Work and Impact
The clinic reproduces the type of representation and methodology comparable to that provided by the best appellate firms in the country, with teams of attorneys working in small groups on one case. In working on the cases, students have exposure to top civil rights and appellate litigators in the country. In addition to this work, students participate in classroom sessions (augmented by expert presentations) and attend oral arguments when appropriate.
Recent Cases
Gerald E. Groff v. Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, 22-174
In Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) and their counterpart, the National Institute for Workers’ Rights filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in Groff v. DeJoy, a case concerning the right to workplace accommodations for religious minorities. The brief—filed on behalf of neither party—implores the Supreme Court to clarify confusion over the employer’s burden under Title VII’s religious accommodation provision, specifically the “more than a de minimis cost” language adopted in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison (1977). Rather than wholly replace the Hardison standard or leave it as is, this brief asks the Court to strike a balance between employees’ religious freedoms and secular employees’ workplace rights, while keeping in mind the burden of accommodations on employers and Establishment Clause concerns.
Mondelli v. Berkeley Heights Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center, 18-2193
In Mondelli v. Berkeley Heights Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center, the plaintiff, who suffers from significant mental disabilities, was denied visitation with his ailing mother by a nursing home. The Clinic was appointed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit with full briefing responsibilities to represent the interests of Mr. Mondelli. The Clinic’s amicus brief addresses a district court’s dismissal of a plaintiff’s claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The brief argues that the plaintiff’s case should not have been dismissed without first appointing him a guardian to protect his legal interests, and the district court’s decision to do so violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Third Circuit precedent.
Fitzgerald v. Roncalli High School, Inc., 22-2954
The Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, representing the National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) and the National Employment Law Project (“NELP”), filed an amicus brief with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in an employment discrimination case. The brief supports Shelley Fitzgerald, a guidance counselor fired from Roncalli High School, a Catholic school, after administration and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis learned she was married to another woman.
Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, 21-309
The Penn State Law Civil Rights Appellate Clinic filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United Sates. The brief, written on behalf of the National Employment Lawyers Association, supported Latrice Saxon in her lawsuit against Southwest Airlines. The clinic argued airline cargo loaders are not subject to the Federal Arbitration Act, because that class of workers falls under an exemption in the statute.
Faculty Supervision
Professor Michael Foreman focuses on appellate representation in civil rights issues and employment discrimination cases and is the director of Penn State Dickinson Law’s Civil Rights Appellate Clinic, which has served as counsel of record on numerous cases in United States Supreme Court and the federal appellate courts.
Professor Foreman has frequently been called upon to testify before Congress and the EEOC on the impact of the Supreme Court decisions affecting civil rights and employment issues. He also teaches the Advanced Employment Discrimination and The Employment Relationship courses.
Prior to joining the law school, Foreman served as deputy director of legal programs for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Law in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for supervising all litigation in employment discrimination, housing, education, voting rights, and environmental justice areas.
Related Courses
Evidence
This course presents evidence in trials under the Federal Rules of Evidence, at common law and in equity and with reference to administrative bodies. The reasoning from which rules arise in areas including relevancy, competency, privilege, examination of witnesses, writing, the hearsay rule and its exceptions, burden of proof, presumptions, judicial notice, and constitutional evidence problems is also addressed.
Constitutional Law I and II
These courses examine the roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches in determining limits of national and state powers and protection of the individual and civil rights provided in the United States Constitution.
Employment Discrimination
This course will provide an overview of significant doctrinal issues in employment discrimination law, and will seek to develop students' skills through a rigorous examination of statutory law, regulations and court decisions.
Federal Court Practice
This course introduces contemporary issues in several topical areas of particular interest to litigating in federal courts.
Federal Courts
This course involves elements of constitutional law and civil procedure, addressing the relationship of federal courts to administrative agencies and state courts. The heart of the course consists of advanced topics including the power of federal courts to create common law, limitations (and complications) in suits against the federal and state governments and their officials, problems arising when administrative agencies or state courts are addressing matters related to the subject of a pending case in federal court, and limitations on federal appellate jurisdiction.