Eight students from Prof. Kim Wehle‘s Federal Courts class visited the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 20 and enjoyed special behind-the-scenes tours and meetings.
In addition to watching oral arguments before the justices and hearing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg announce the unanimous decision in the case Timbs v. Indiana — which, by the way, cited an amicus brief co-written by UB School of Law Prof. John Bessler — the students spent time chatting with the 20th Clerk of the Supreme Court, Scott S. Harris.
“This was THE coolest trip I have gone on in law school,” said Clarissa Lindsey, a 3L who works in the Innocence Project Clinic. “Overall, the trip was certainly a monumental experience.
“As a law student, it’s like you’re attending the premiere of a movie in Hollywood. As someone who is about to enter the legal field as a young attorney, observing the oral arguments and the justices was invigorating and put so much of what we learn into a practical perspective,” said Lindsey.
“Supreme Court justices are celebrities for law students, but watching them pound counsel with questions underscored why they work so hard in law school,” said Prof. Wehle, who arranged the visit and the meeting with the clerk, Mr. Harris. “Lawyering requires diligence, thorough preparation and agility. It was an experience of a lifetime, and I was thrilled to make it happen for them,” she said.
“The last thing we did on our trip was a behind-the-scenes tour, ” said Lindsey, “which we learned is something that is not routinely offered. The amount of history we learned about the justices and the architecture of the building itself was astonishing. The experience was just not something that could be learned in a textbook.”
UPDATES/University of Baltimore School of Law 