Students meet with attorney David Frederick before he argued before the Supreme Court. As a result of that meeting, students not only understood the case better when they listened to oral arguments, but the nuances of his preparation for the arguments he was making. Click on the image to see sample DC itineraries and who else we visited over the years!
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For many years I had the honor to take students on a journey to Washington DC to explore in depth the workings of our federal government. This was no ordinary trip to DC. We heard oral arguments at the US Supreme Court and then met with the lawyers who just argued the case before the bench. We then met with clerks who would helped prepare the justices for those arguments and occasionally a justice might show up to say hi. We paid numerous visits to Congresspeople and their legislative assistance to get into the nitty gritty of lawmaking and then sat in on committee hearings. At the Justice Department students met with attorneys at the Office of Legal Counsel to debate the finer points of presidential advisement and at Treasury we met with top level appointees who oversaw monetary policy and foreign funding. We lunched with investigative reporters from the New York Times and got a behind the scenes take on how the National Gallery curates their art. And yes, we visited monuments (but always asked what stories they were trying to tell…). Years later students recall how their understanding of how government works and what role they could play in it being shaped by this journey.
Students meet with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A memorable experience that inspired many of us long after our visit. Click on the image to see the course reader that helped supplement our personal visits with background information about the people we were spending time with (including rulings written by RBG that we then discussed with her!)
Students meet with Congressman Joe Kennedy. Every person we met with spoke of how well prepared, intelligent, engaged, and thoughtful our students were. Click on the image to read some examples of feedback from some of the people we visited.