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For many visitors to Washington, D.C., a good trip includes a
tour of the Capitol, a day at the Air and Space Museum, and
a panoramic view from the Washington Monument.
For 16 Salmon P. Chase College of Law students, a great trip
included a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
to hear his analysis of election year politics, talking with the
named plaintiff in litigation that preceded a landmark decision by
the Supreme Court of the United States, and hearing government
lawyers explain what life can be like after law school.
The students went to Washington this spring in Chase’s Washington,
D.C., “Study Away” program, designed to help them see
how legislation, regulation, and litigation become the black-letter
law they read in casebooks. What some of them discovered is that
the case law they come to know on a last-name-only basis is also
a chronicle of how society frames itself through people such as
those they met, people such as McConnell and Kris Perry.
Perry went to court in 2009 to challenge a California ballot initiative
that would have prohibited same-sex marriage. The case,
which began as Perry v. Schwarzenegger and was styled as Hollingsworth
v. Perry when it reached the Supreme Court of the United
States, opened the way for same-sex marriage in California two
years before the Court in 2015 decided in Obergefell v. Hodges that
same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
TheChase students talked with Perry, who moved from California
and is executive director of a Washington, D.C.,‐based advocacy
group for early childhood education, within sight of the Supreme
Court Building. Thejustices’ decision there on standing in the case
she initiated opened the way for courts to set aside California voters’
Proposition 8.
“Being able to meet with a named plaintiff in the Proposition 8
case was a great experience,” Chase 1L Stephanie Brockman says.
“Her non-lawyer perspective of the legal system and how it works
gave us insights that we don’t always think about as we make our
way through law school.”
For Chase 1L Heather Herald, the timing of the trip to meet
with Kentucky U.S. Senators McConnell and Rand Paul, and
Kentucky and Ohio U.S. Representatives Th mas Massie, John
Yarmuth, and Steve Chabot added a contemporary perspective.
“I think it was great that we happened to be in D.C. during an election
year. Hearing what Senator McConnell
and Representatives Massie, Chabot,
Yarmuth, and (former Representative Geoff)
Davis had to say about the Trump/Clinton
election was really interesting,” she says.
the people who try to influence them was eye-opening.”
–Ashton France, 1L
• What lobbyists do: “I previously spent some time working
for a member of Congress on the Hill. It was interesting
watching my law school colleagues talk to lobbyists. At first
there was a real hesitation, but that hesitation quickly grew
to admiration, as lobbyists are influential with respect to
helping elected official and their staffs understand intricate
issues.” –Michael McQueary, 1L
• The Washington, D.C., culture: “The e are so many different
opinions and outlooks on positions and policies. Even if
there are differing opinions, that does not mean working together
is impossible. D.C. is also about whom you know and
what the person knows about you.” –Kate Buffing n, 1L
In addition to talking with legislators and a plaintiff in a case some
students had read, the trip allowed participants to envision themselves
in government. Discussions with lawyers at the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, Judge Advocate General, and other agencies
helped them understand what careers might look like for them.
“Meeting with JAG lawyers at the Pentagon and with the EEOC
lawyers at the agency’s headquarters helped me realize there are
many career paths available to lawyers,” 1L Astarre Gudino says.
With the 10-day program of meetings and tours concluded, the
students still have work to do. Th y must write a 20-page analysis
based on their experiences. For 3L Lisa Schreihart, sitting in
the House gallery and hearing four Congresswomen speak on the
Equal Pay Act in a nearly empty chamber decided her topic.
“The women announced that they would speak on those issues
every month, because it’s still necessary to do so. I wholeheartedly
agree. I’m going to do my independent study paper on the Equal
Pay Act.”
Thereality of Washington politics played
into some students’ broadened understandings
of:
• How things work in Congress: “Being
exposed to how lobbyists, members of
Congress, and congressional staffers
work to pass legislation was fascinating.
Hearing from the lawmakers and
Salmon P. Chase College of Law students and Northern Kentucky University students gather during the
Chase Washington, D.C., Study Away program for a photo with U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, third
from left, who graduated from Chase in 1978.
BENCH & BAR |
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