Since 1990, the Clinic has handled appellate cases. Our appellate cases currently come from two sources. The first are federal pro se cases referred by the Ninth Circuit. In addition, the Clinic receives appellate cases from public defender organizations, attorneys, or individuals in Idaho, or by initiating an appeal from our general civil and criminal cases. These sources generate predominately state appellate cases.

The Appellate Clinic allows interested students to work intensively on one or two complex cases, requiring in-depth understanding of an area of law and the public policy issues surrounding it. Students handling appellate cases work individually or in pairs, depending on the complexity of the case and the abilities of the students. The nature of the appellate cases is such that, with appropriate screening and assignment, students generally are able to take at least one case to oral argument and completion during their two semesters in Clinic.

The Ninth Circuit has frequently recognized the quality of legal representation provided by students in the Appellate Clinic. In the Frost v. Agnos, 152 F.3d 1124, 1127 (9th Cir. 1998), the court wrote in a footnote, “We commend pro bono counsel for their outstanding performance at oral argument and for their fine legal work on this case.” Reversing the district court’s dismissal of a prisoner civil rights claim in Vignolo v. Miller, 120 F.3d 1075 (1997), the court noted that the appellant was “well represented” by Appellate Clinic interns. Likewise, two 1997 memorandum decisions, Curnow v. WSP Medical Staff, 110 F.3d 67, (1997 WL 154054), and Whitfield v. Fresno County Detention Facility, 110 F.3d 72, (1997 WL 135818), commended the representation provided by our interns.

Maureen E. Laflin, Director of Clinical Programs and Appellate Clinic Supervising Attorney Click on photo for Professor's Bio