Yale Law School students who have been working for months on a case involving mandatory minimum sentencing for a convicted felon argued that case before the highest court in the land on Jan. 15.

In United States v. Rodriquez, the Law School’s Supreme Court Clinic is representing Gino Gonzaga Rodriquez, who was convicted of possessing a firearm and who faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, if the U.S. government prevails in the case.

The case relates to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which holds that an individual possessing a firearm is subject to a mandatory 15-year sentence if he has three “predicate offenses” — that is, been convicted of three violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Rodriquez had two predicate offenses when he was convicted of a drug crime in the state of Washington. At issue in this case is whether that third drug offense qualifies as a “predicate offense” under the ACCA. The government will argue that it does. Charles Rothfeld of Mayer Brown LLP will argue on behalf of the clinic and Rodriquez that it does not.

“This case presents a question regarding how the term ‘serious drug offense’ should be interpreted,” says third-year law student Paul Hughes. “The ACCA defines it as a drug offense for which the maximum prison term is 10 years or more. Rodriquez’s drug conviction in Washington called for a maximum sentence of five years, but a Washington State recidivism statute doubled that to 10 years. The Supreme Court will decide whether such state recidivist enhancements are relevant to ACCA.”

United States v. Rodriquez is the second case Yale Law School’s Supreme Court Clinic has argued since it started up in the fall of 2006. Clinic students work on real-life legal cases under the supervision of experienced Supreme Court litigators, including Yale Law faculty with Supreme Court expertise, and Charles Rothfeld and Andrew Pincus of Mayer Brown, who are both former assistants to the U.S. solicitor general. While Rothfeld delivered his oral argument Jan. 15, the students who worked on the case were in the courtroom watching, along with Cece Glenn, the Spokane lawyer who successfully argued the case in the Ninth Circuit.

“I could not have provided the expertise in research or preparation of briefs without the genuine commitment and extreme effort that the students at the Yale Law School Clinic have exhibited under the supervision of Charles Rothfeld and Andrew Pincus,” says Glenn. “Their advocacy and experience have given me a basis upon which to feel comfortable that the best effort possible has been provided to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of Mr. Rodriquez, whose case impacts not only Mr. Rodriquez but many others in the same circumstance.”

Yale Law School faculty members who oversee the work of the Supreme Court Clinic are Dan Kahan, the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law, and Brett Dignam, clinical professor of law and supervising attorney. Others who contributed to the case include Sarah French Russell, director of the school’s Arthur Liman Public Interest Program and a lecturer in law, and third-year students Madhu Chugh, Ethan Davis, Paul Hughes and Michael Kimberly. Assistance with research was also provided by law students Jonathan Donenberg, Fred Liu, Seun Adebiyi, Catherine Barnard, Jennifer Harris, Amy Kurren, Joshua Lee, Jeremy Licht, Jose Minan, Joseph Minta, Michael Murray and Katherine Wilson-Milne.

To read more about the Yale Law School clinic or the Supreme Court case, visit www.yale.edu/supremecourtclinic.

---

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale cuts costs for families and students

Homebuyer benefit increased

Fossil solves mystery of extinct animal's origins

Team learns Abu Dhabi desert once lush habitat

Meeting the challenges of nursing care in Nicaragua

Foundation’s gift to the School of Drama establishes . . .


ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

• Marans has been appointed as Harris Professor
  
  
• Medzhitov named first incumbent of Wallace chair
  
  
• State is designated as Cohen Associate Professor
  
  

Study: Despite efforts, racial disparities in cancer care continue

Law School students argue case before the nation’s highest court

Sharp cited as ‘superb teacher of teachers’

Events commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day

The color printmaking revolution is highlighted in new exhibition

Symposium to examine the university’s role as architectural patron

Forum will explore the use of neuroimaging in study of alcoholism

Memorial Service for George Hersey

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes

---

Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News

Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines

Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home

---