course schedule
A quick preview of course units that will be updated throughout the semester. Check each Class To-Do for detailed overviews, full assignments & reading introductions.
1/26: Introductory class
DUE BEFORE CLASS
Class Survey (asking for your group work preferences & other information)
Personality Photo (discussion post on Canvas)
Start voting for your favorite photos (we’ll finish voting during class)
READ BEFORE CLASS
Syllabus (see Syllabus tab on this site)
Course Schedule (see Course Schedule tab on this site)
Skim your classmates’ Personality Photos to get ready for in-class voting
1/28: theories of justice
READ BEFORE CLASS
Social Justice: History, Theory, and Research, Chapter 30 from Handbook of Social Psychology, Fifth Ed. (pp. 1122-23; 1126-29: Distributive Justice and Liberal Progressive Tradition - Utilitarianism; 1144-45: Retributive Justice)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Distributive Justice” (pp. 8-23: Strict Egalitarianism, The Difference Principle, Equality of Opportunity and Luck Egalitarianism; 29-37: Desert-Based Principles & Libertarian Principles)
Mike Materni: “Criminal Punishment and the Pursuit of Justice”
Breonna Taylor Case Materials
The Cut: “What Really Happened with the Breonna Taylor Grand Jury?”
Look around StandwithBre.com
SKIM text of U.S. Senate bill: Justice for Breonna Taylor Act
SKIM text of bill amending Virginia Code 19.2-56 (prohibiting no-knock warrants)
2/2: Poverty & inequality -
civil direct legal services, part i
Chinh Le, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
Emily Ponder Williams, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
DUE BEFORE CLASS:
Sign up here for your Blog Post assignment (any changes after 2/1 must be by emailing me; all completed posts should be submitted in Canvas under Blog Post Assignment)
READ BEFORE CLASS:
Economic Policy Institute: “50 Years After the Kerner Commission”
Aneel L. Chablani: “Legal Aid’s Once and Future Role for Impacting the Criminalization of Poverty and the War on the Poor” (pp. 353-60)
SKIM Newton, et al: “Civil Gideon and NYC’s Universal Access: Why Comprehensive Public Benefits Advocacy is Essential to Preventing Evictions and Creating Stability”
Look around American University’s Research on Civil Legal Aid site –
SKIM the Housing issue brief
2/4: Poverty & inequality -
civil direct legal services, part iI
READ BEFORE CLASS
Tonya Brito: “The Right to Civil Counsel”
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor: From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (Chapter 1: pp. 38-47 -starting with “The passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act”, and Chapter 2)
Heritage Foundation: “Understanding the Hidden $1.1 Trillion Welfare System and How to Reform It”
OPTIONAL: Look around: National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel
2/9: criminal justice direct services -
public defenders & prosecutors, part I
Bryan Porter, Alexandria Commonwealth’s Attorney
April Russo, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia
READ BEFORE CLASS
David Alan Sklansky: “The Progressive Prosecutors Handbook”
Hao Quang Nguyen: “Progressive Prosecution: It’s Here But Now What?”
Preet Bharara, Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, “Baby Carlina”
Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy, Excerpt from “The Stone Catcher’s Song of Sorrow”
OPTIONAL: Angela Davis: “Reimagining Prosecution: A Growing Progressive Movement”
2/11: criminal justice direct services -
public defenders & prosecutors, part II
Aisha McWeay, Still She Rises
Liz Murtagh, Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender
READ BEFORE CLASS
The Nation: “Unequal Before the Law: How Did We End up With Our Current System of Public Defenders?”
Robin Steinberg: “Heeding Gideon’s Call in the Twenty-first Century: Holistic Defense and the New Public Defense Paradigm” (pp. 1-27)
Bryan Stevenson: Just Mercy, Introduction chapter
Baćak, et al: “Fighting the Good Fight: Why Do Public Defenders Remain on the Job?” (pp. 939-43, 950-958)
Sam Allison-Natale: “From Altruism to Solidarity: A New (or Perhaps Old) Model for Public Service”
OPTIONAL: Watch Gideon’s Promise’s Public Defenders on the Frontlines (July 2020) (53 m.)
2/16: Responding to Injustice part 1: Thinking about Your Public Interest Work Preferences
DUE BEFORE CLASS
READ BEFORE CLASS
Unanue, et al: “Revisiting the Link between Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Basic Psychological Needs”
SKIM Anne Helen Petersen: “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation”
SKIM Pew Research Center: “The State of American Jobs: 3. How Americans View Their Jobs” (note private vs. public sector employees’ perceptions table)
Watch Recorded Interviews of Jennifer Thomas, Public Defender Service of DC and Robin Edwards, New York County District Attorney’s Office (to watch online without downloading videos, go to Canvas Files/Videos)
OPTIONAL: Explore personality types through 16 Personalities’s Free Personality Test
2/18: Impact work, Part I - immigration
Leslye Orloff, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project
Sabrina Talukder ‘14, Legal Aid Society, Bronx
READ BEFORE CLASS
Raymond Brescia: “Creative Lawyering for Social Change” (pp. 540-559; 572-594)
Sabrina Talukder: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, here’s how you can rebuild the economy: Decriminalize Sex Work”
Leslye Orloff: “Don’t Gut Violence Against Women Act”
Lesley Orloff: “Urgent Reforms Needed in the U Visa Program” (pp. 34-37)
SKIM Community Toolkit chapter, “General Strategies for Organizing for Legislative Advocacy”
**sat., 2/20: shaping justice conference
Attendance at Shaping Justice in a Time of Crisis’s 10 am plenary panel on racial justice and at least one additional panel is expected.
**2/23: CLASS canceled due to conference
2/25: Impact work, Part II - Criminal Justice Reform
Elisabeth Epps ‘11, Colorado Freedom Fund & ACLU of Colorado
Alison Mollman, Equal Justice Initiative
READ BEFORE CLASS
New York Times: “Bail Funds, Flush with Cash, Learn to ‘Grind Through This Horrible Process’ “
Denverite: “Imposing cash bail for minor offenses is no longer an option in Colorado”
Elisabeth Epps, et al: “Community Bail Funds as a Tool for Prison Abolition”
Equal Justice Initiative: “All Children are Children: Challenging Abusive Punishment of Children”
Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) (Oyez page linked here so you can listen to Bryan Stevenson’s oral argument if you’re interested)
**2/26: live recorded conversation - optional
3:15 pm-4:15pm: Regular Class Zoom Link
Charles Gerstein, Civil Rights Corps
Aditi Goal ‘13, Sixth Amendment Center
3/2: Impact work, Part III - strengthening
the public Defender system
READ BEFORE CLASS
Watch the 2/26 recorded conversation with Gerstein & Goel if you did not attend the live session
SKIM Irene Oritseweyinmi Joe: “Structuring the Public Defender”
Ace Factor: “Lessons from New Orleans: A Stronger Role for Public Defenders in Spurring Indigent Defense Reform”
3/4: community lawyering
Taylor Healy, Attorney, and Aja Taylor, Community Organizer - Bread for the City
READ BEFORE CLASS
Healy and Taylor, “Making the Case for Community Lawyering”
Purvy and Chuck, “Community Lawyering” (Interview)
**3/5: live recorded conversation - optional
3:15 pm-4:15pm
Sejal Jhaveri ‘15, Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Stephen Sovinsky ‘13, Virginia Office of the Attorney General
**3/9: NO CLASS - spring break day
3/11: impact work in the government, part i
READ BEFORE CLASS
Either attend live or watch the recording of Sejal Jhaveri and Stephen Sovinsky
Virginia Office of the Attorney General, “ATTORNEY GENERAL HERRING SHUTS DOWN DECEPTIVE HOMELESS VETERANS CHARITY”
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, “Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Transperfect Staffing Solutions Discriminated Against Dual U.S. Citizens and Work-Authorized Non-U.S. Citizens”
Economic Policy Institute: “State Attorneys General Can Play Roles in Protecting Workers’ Rights”
Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General: “Building Toward a Racial Justice and Equity in Health: A Call to Action” (internal pp. 1-13, 19-29)
3/16: impact work in the government, part ii
Toby Heytens, Solicitor General for the Commonwealth of Virginia
Loren AliKhan, Solicitor General for the District of Columbia
READ BEFORE CLASS
Watch: “The Role of the State Solicitor General” (5 min.; produced by the Federalist Society with a slight emphasis on red states’ rights)
Amicus Brief filed by the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski
Appellees’ Brief filed by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, et al.
Solicitor General of Virginia webpage
Solicitor General of the District of Columbia webpage
3/18: financing your public service career
Jennifer Hulvey and Helen Dugger, Financial Aid Office
READ BEFORE CLASS
NALP 2018 Public Service Attorney Salary Report (for interactive version, sign into psjd.org and click here)
Ziprecruiter (look up job types for rough measures of salaries by zipcode)
U.S. Department of Education: “Applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness: 5 Tips for Success”
3/23: representing the government part 1:
the legislative branch
Joe Charlet ‘18, U.S. Senate Committee for the Judiciary, Sen. Richard Durbin (D)
Hannah Fraher ‘19, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (R)
READ BEFORE CLASS
Look around: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
3/25: representing the government part 2:
the executive branch
Laura Akowuah ‘12, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Chief Counsel
Sarah Buckley ‘14, U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division
Yan Gao ‘15, Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Competition
Teddy Toyozaki ‘16, Department of Energy, Office of General Counsel
READ BEFORE CLASS
Watch Interview of Sarah Johns ‘12, Assistant Attorney General, Virginia Commonwealth University
“Government Counsel and Their Obligations,” Harvard L. Rev. Note (2008, Vol. 121; no author’s name given)
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.13 and Rule 1.13 Comment (see Government Agency comment in particular)
Look around: U.S. DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility Investigative Summaries (adjudicating complaints of attorney misconduct)
3/30: Public/public and public/private
career Transitions
Chris Wilkinson ‘91, Perkins Coie, formerly at the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the
Solicitor
Rachel Kincaid ‘15, Mountain State Justice, formerly at the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil
Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia
READ BEFORE CLASS
Perkins Coie: News release regarding Chris Wilkinson
SKIM: U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Civil Rights Labor-Management
Mountain State Justice: Demand letter to WV Governor Justice
Washington Post: “Former VA Doctor Pleads Guilty to Molesting Patients” (note: sexual assault information described in this article)
4/1: clinics & externships introduction
2L and 3L students who have participated in various clinics at UVA Law will share overviews of their experiences in the Child Advocacy, Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, Immigration, Innocence Project, and International Human Rights clinics and in externships.
READ BEFORE CLASS
No reading - use your extra time this week to research your policy briefs!
4/6: beyond the borders part 1: national
security
Mike Buchwald ‘06, U.S. DOJ, National Security Division, Office of Law and Policy, formerly at
the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Kate Naseef ‘14, U.S. DOJ, Criminal Division, formerly at the Central Intelligence Agency
READ BEFORE CLASS
SKIM: “Members of the Intelligence Community” (be sure to read the CIA entry)
Lawfare Blog: “The Classified Information Procedures Act: What it Means and How It’s Applied”
Christian Science Monitor: “Why China Hacks the World”
OPTIONAL: Watch “Foundations of U.S. Intelligence Law,” a long but excellent introduction by Prof. Bobby Chesney, University of Texas at Austin, Robert Strauss Center (1 hour 12 min.)
**4/8: no class - spring break day
4/13: beyond the borders part 2:
Public international law
Katherine Reynolds ‘12, Director of Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic and Assistant Professor of Law, Elon Law
Amy Stern ‘12, Attorney-adviser, U.S. Department of State Office of Legal Adviser
READ BEFORE CLASS
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner: “International Human Rights Law”
SKIM: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner: “International Human Rights Treaties”
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), with Katherine Reynolds as contributor: “Families in Limbo: What the Biden Administration Can Do Now to Address Unreasonable Delays in Refugee and Asylee Family Reunification”
IRAP News Release
Harold Koh: “The State Department’s Legal Adviser’s Office: Eight Decades of Peace and War” (read excerpt: pp. 1757-60)
4/15: representing the government part 3:
local government
Denise Letendre ‘13, Henrico County Attorney’s Office
Kimberly Fayette, Public Rights Project/Justice Catalyst Fellow, New York City Commission on
Human Rights
READ BEFORE CLASS
TBD
4/20: the first job: Postgraduate
fellowships, honors programs,
entry-level work
READ BEFORE CLASS
Annie Kim: 3L Public Service Hiring Models
Attorney at Work: “Confronting Lawyer Turnover in Law Firms”
SKIM Prof. John Monahan: “Lawyers at the Peak of Their Careers: A 30-Year Longitudinal Study of Job and Life Satisfaction” (suggest reading the introduction, skipping to p. 11 to read the findings, and reviewing the tables at the end)
Listen to Brene Brown podcast, Unlocking Us: “Brene on Armored versus Daring Leadership, Part 1 of 2.”
Look around: U.S. Department of Justice Online Resources (one-page links sheet)
4/22: Making change & pursuing justice:
tangible first steps
DUE BEFORE CLASS
READ BEFORE CLASS
Deborah Stone, Policy Paradox, 3rd Ed. - Excerpt from Chapter 1 and Chapter 11 - “Decisions”
4/27: policy brief quick talks
PREPARE BEFORE CLASS
Come to class prepared to give a brief presentation of your policy brief topic and open questions to discuss in small groups