Professor Joshua McDaniel is the director of Harvard’s Religious Freedom Clinic, where he and his students provide pro bono representation to members of minority faiths and vulnerable communities in the fight against discrimination and the defense of their constitutional and statutory rights. Professor McDaniel joins the Law Student Podcast team to discuss civil rights litigation, the value law students can derive from participating in clinics and pro bono work, and why civil litigation is a path each law student should consider. Hear what lawyers are doing today in this ever important segment of the law and how you can get involved in the fight for equality and justice.

Click here to view the episode transcript.

• (00:00) - Why Civil Rights Litigation Matters to Law Students
• (01:57) - Introducing our Guest, Professor Joshua McDaniel
• (04:32) - What is Civil Rights Litigation
• (06:21) - Procedural Nuances in Civil Rights Litigation
• (08:16) - Section 1983 Explained
• (09:13) - Case Examples and Client Stories
• (11:37) - How to Develop Litigation Instincts Through Practical Experience
• (13:34) - Why It’s Important for Law Students to Consider Becoming Civil Rights Litigators
• (16:32) - The Emotional and Professional Challenges of the Field
• (18:05) - How to Stay Grounded and Balanced
• (19:37) - Advice for Aspiring Civil Rights Litigators
• (22:01) - What Life Looks Like for an Early Career Civil Rights Litigator
• (24:21) - The Importance of Mentorship
• (25:09) - Encouragement for Law Students
• (26:47) - Host Discussion

When the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs reversing Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood, it began a rapidly evolving conflict between the States on one of the most high profile and controversial constitutional debates of our day. While much has been made of the laws which have either restricted or protected access to abortions, conflicts often reach beyond the borders of States due to interstate commerce, the Full Faith and Credit Clause, and the Extradition Clause. For law students, this is an opportunity to see with unusual clarity the dynamics of the law in motion and to better understand state-federal conflicts.

To help you better understand how these conflicts are playing out today and where they may be leading in the future, host Chay Rodriguez is joined by professors Rachel Rebouché and David S. Cohen, co-authors of an article entitled “Abortion Shield Laws”, which has helped lead 18 States and D.C. to adopt laws protecting healthcare practitioners who provide abortion services for patients from states where abortion is illegal.

Click here to read the article professors Rebouché and Cohen co-authored.

• (00:00) - Introducing today’s topic
• (02:08) - Our guests Rachel Rebouche and David S. Cohen
• (02:53) - Interview with Professor Rachel Rebouche
• (03:00) - Intro to abortion shield laws and the conflict between States
• (07:30) - How an article led to the development of shield laws for a post-Roe America’
• (07:59) - How States banning abortion seek to impede abortion resources beyond their borders
• (10:10) - The way the shield law evolved and developed first in Connecticut
• (10:58) - Odds of a Supreme Court fight: Rebouche
• (12:07) - Interview with Professor David S. Cohen
• (12:15) - The post-Dobbs reality in America
• (14:03) - The Full Faith and Credit Clause and abortion shield laws
• (17:36) - Shield laws and State sovereignty
• (18:44) - Odds of a Supreme Court fight: Cohen
• (20:38) - Dobbs and economic classes: equal protection claims
• (26:48) - How law students can get involved
• (30:05) - Abortion trafficking
• (34:20) - How scholarship can impact the legal landscape

Every day, each of us produce more data that ends up in the hands of third parties: browsing data, shopping data, stored images, writings, and communications. And each of us expects a certain degree of privacy and protections. But when that data can play a critical role in criminal justice, our regulations have struggled to balance the need for personal privacy while also serving the fair and equal pursuit of justice.

Join us as we explore the intersection of data privacy, evidence law, and criminal defense with Professor Rebecca Wexler. Discover the challenges of accessing digital evidence, the evolving legal landscape, and the potential wide-ranging impacts of Snap v. Pina on data privacy laws. And learn how you, as a law student, can play a role in redefining how our laws manage data in the future.

Additional Resources:

Snap v. Pina
Court of Appeal Decision
Docket

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (04:00) - Why Every Lawyer Needs to Understand Data Privacy
• (06:24) - How The Law Has Adapted to Digital Evidence
• (08:54) - Unequal Access to Digital Data in Criminal Cases
• (12:50) - Understanding Snap v Pina
• (18:36) - The Intersection of Intellectual Property and Data Privacy
• (22:47) - How Law Students Can Impact the Law
• (26:43) - Host Discussion