Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (AJMLS) students are working to dismantle the school to prison pipeline in their Civil Liberties Litigation Seminar, taught by Professor Kathleen M. Burch. The three-credit elective seminar allows Atlanta’s John Marshall students to work on live legal issues and gain clinic-like experience working with a civil liberties issue.
This semester, in collaboration with attorneys from Georgia Legal Services, the Seminar students are representing local public school students in disciplinary hearings. In preparation, the AJMLS students learned the school disciplinary process and students’ right to due process during investigations and hearings.
As a result, two public school students were able to return to their classrooms this week. The AJMLS students wrote the briefs appealing the discipline by the hearing officers to the respective school boards, and both school boards determined that the expulsions were not warranted.
The Law School is proud of the hard work of our students in the community and is thrilled to offer these hands-on experiences in and outside the classroom.