Last month, Duke Law School announced that a team of four 3Ls from the school’s Appellate Litigation Clinic played an instrumental role in helping a clinic client win his appeal against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The client, a commercial truck driver who was denied an additional credential by TSA on the grounds that a 30-year old conviction made him a security risk, was represented by one of the clinic’s directors, Sean Andrussier.
The team of Duke Law students who worked on the appeal researched the relevant federal laws, including the USA Patriot Act provisions that penalized commercial drivers for past convictions, and studied the process TSA used to deny their client, Lewis Boniface, his application for a hazardous materials endorsement. Under Mr. Andrussier’s supervision, they also crafted the appeal and, during spring term, practiced arguing their case. On April 13, one member of the team, Meghan Ferguson `10, actually delivered the oral argument in front of a D.C. Circuit Court panel that included Judge Douglas Ginsburg, Judge Judith Rogers and Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Judge Ginsburg authored the court’s opinion for the case ruling in the appellant’s favor.
Duke’s Appellate Litigation Clinic is no stranger to successfully arguing real cases. In 2008, the clinic won a disability law case in front of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
