Two University instructors from the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic will argue separate cases before the U.S. Supreme Court today.
Law Prof. Daniel Ortiz and clinic instructor Mark Stancil each will argue a case before the court, a landmark event for the clinic since its creation in 2006.
These two cases are the clinic's third and fourth to be brought before the court this term, setting a record-breaking feat for the University Law School community. "This is a groundbreaking day for the clinic and something we hope to repeat," said third-year Law student Adam Milasincic, a clinic member.
Ortiz will argue Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri, a First Amendment case about whether public employees can file a claim about an ordinary workplace dispute under the Petition Clause, Ortiz said.
His case stems from a disagreement between the Pennsylvania municipality and Duryea Police Chief Charles J. Guarnieri, Jr., about the loss of his job. Guarnieri was fired by the Duryea Borough Council in 2003 after filing a union grievance. Although Guarnieri was reinstated in 2005 after he filed a grievance with arbitration to reclaim his job, he was disciplined by the council in the form of 11 "directives," which the police chief cites as an act of retaliation for wanting his job back, Ortiz said.
Stancil will follow Ortiz with the case of Fox v. Vice, a case about whether defendants can be awarded attorney's fees based on a dismissal of a frivolous claim even if it is asserted among other non-frivolous claims.
In 2005, Vinton, La. police chief candidate Ricky Fox brought a civil rights suit against the incumbent chief, Billy Ray Vice, for instigating the filing of a false police report accusing Fox of using a racial slur. Two years later in 2007, Fox admitted his federal claims had no backing with a federal cause of action. In response, the district court granted the defendants' motions for attorney's fees after the claims were dismissed. The fee award was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals but affirmed in a split decision.
The two cases were handpicked by the clinic, whose members "are constantly on the watch for cases that present an interesting issue" and would be of interest to the Supreme Court, Milasincic said, adding that the clinic identifies such cases by running routine searches on cases in the lower court of appeals. The next step involves making a pitch to promising candidates and drafting briefs.
The clinic currently consists of 13 third-year Law students, although it received applications from 40 students this year. Clinic membership gives Law students valuable firsthand experience "practicing with major players in the big league," Ortiz said. "Both cases are wonderful opportunities for the clinic."
Milasincic also expressed the significance of these two cases.
"This is the first time we've had two cases argued in the same day," he said. "That's a pretty remarkable statistic, because out of all the thousands of cases that people ask the Supreme Court to argue every day, only a fraction are accepted. [This] is something we hope to repeat"
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