Alumni Magazine & Dean's Report - I.U. School of Law - Indiana ...

HELPING PEOPLE LIKE RANA was exactly what
LL.M. student, Raio Krishnayya, founder and excecutive
director of the Center for Victim and Human Rights (CVHR)
had in mind when he he came to Indianapolis from a northwest
Chicago suburb and founded his organization in 2008. During
Krishnayya’s experience in the prosecutor’s office in Chicago,
he saw many cases where victims of crimes were not being
completely served by the justice system. He says, “the CVHR’s
mission is to make the victim as whole as possible. By the
term ‘victim’ we mean any person who has suffered injury as a
result of a criminal act or a human rights violation. The phrase
‘as whole as possible’ goes to our core values that we seek
to return the victim to their status before the criminal act or
human rights violation occurred.”
A 2010 graduate of the Human Rights Law track of the
law school’s LL.M. program, Krishnayya has worked closely
with Professors George Edwards, Linda Kelly Hill, Karen
Bravo and María Pabón López on both international human
rights, as well as immigration issues. The CVHR now relies
heavily on volunteers, including many current law and IUPUI
students, as well as other individuals.
Recent J.D. graduate Chris Nancarrow, ‘09, of Fort
Wayne says, “I became involved with the CVHR because of
my keen interest in international issues and believed it had
the potential to fill a much needed niche in the Midwest’s
By Elizabeth Allington
When an engineering student from India studying at Purdue
University was burned over 90% of his body in a fire that turned out
to be an act of arson, he wasn’t sure he would even survive, let alone be able to put
some of the pieces of his life back together. Manoj Rana, whose friend and roommate
lost his life in the fire, spent the next five years living in the hospital and undergoing
more than 45 surgeries and skin grafts. With no resources to pay his medical bills and
a student visa that would soon expire, Rana needed legal help to obtain a special
U-visa (for victims of crime).
legal community. While working for the CVHR during law
school, I engaged in a number of research projects for
Raio and was consistently given an opportunity to develop
case strategy with him. While serving as a law clerk, Raio
was open to my suggestions and perspectives regarding
the CVHR’s case strategy. It is extremely rewarding to be
working on the cutting edge of immigration issues and
crime victim rights in Indiana and the CVHR offers an
excellent practical opportunity for current students and
alumni to participate in a growing field.”
Krishnayya says the center’s current case load of
10-11 cases could easily be expanded to four times that
number if they had the resources. Nancarrow, who works
at a law firm in Fort Wayne while still serving on the
CVHR board of directors, will also take on the role of
the center’s regional director for Northeast Indiana.
Both men hope to obtain more government and private
funding to expand services.
Krishnayya is proud that the CVHR has been able to help
clients such as Rana and Rana is clearly grateful. Rana says, “I
suspect that there are others like me; individuals who arrive
from other countries to make a better life for themselves and
find themselves the unfortunate victims of a crime. The truth
is that without good legal assistance, navigating the justice
system in the United States is difficult at best.”
I U S C H O O L O F L AW S U M M E R A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E