A third year student argues before the State Supreme Court!

As a third year law student Natalie Rezek took advantage of one of Quinnipiac’s many opportunities to get hands on legal experience: the Defense Appellate Clinic. This clinic is a year long course taught by a practicing public defender. The first semester is spent intensely studying appellate procedure and learning how to write a persuasive appellate brief. In the second semester, each student in the clinic gets his or her own client. Under supervision, each student actively represents his or her client by reading the trial transcript, picking the issues to address on appeal, writing the appellate brief, and filing the brief with the Connecticut Appellate Court. The Connecticut Supreme Court may then decide that the issue is one they would like to address and the brief will be moved from the Appellate Court to the Supreme Court.
Under the supervision of Public Defender Elizabeth Inkster, Natalie had the opportunity to do what few practicing lawyers get to do - argue a case in front of the Connecticut Supreme Court in Hartford. She appeared before a panel of three justices. Natalie’s client was arrested for criminal trespassing in the third degree. She argued that there was not probable cause to arrest her client since the property was not enclosed with a gate, nor was there anything else preventing entry onto the property. Because there was not probable cause for the arrest of her client for criminal trespass, she argued that the search that followed the arrest was illegal. Although the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against her client, Natalie said that this was a value experience that will help her with her future career as a public defender.

To learn more about the Defense Appellate Clinic or other clinical opportunities visit our website.