Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection

Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection

The Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection is a legal clinic and public-interest project affiliated with Georgetown University Law Center and based in Washington, D.C.. It engages in constitutional litigation, administrative advocacy, and public education involving matters such as separation of powers, civil liberties, and statutory interpretation in venues including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and federal district courts. The institute has participated in cases touching on federal statutes, executive actions, and state legislation implicated in high-profile disputes involving entities such as the Department of Justice, the Federal Election Commission, and state attorneys general.

History

Founded in 2013 at Georgetown University, the institute emerged amid debates following the United States v. Windsor and Shelby County v. Holder era that reshaped litigation strategies around constitutional claims. Its establishment coincided with the tenure of deans and faculty at Georgetown who had connections to institutions including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Federalist Society through former clerks of the United States Supreme Court and alumni of the Department of Justice. Early activities involved collaborations with clinics at law schools such as Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and Stanford Law School for amici filings in cases before circuits including the Second Circuit and the Ninth Circuit. Over time the institute expanded to litigate matters relating to the Presidential Transition Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and disputes invoking the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Mission and Activities

The institute’s mission centers on litigation, policy advocacy, and training law students in constitutional practice. It advances claims and defenses in courts including the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and files petitions for certiorari at the Supreme Court of the United States. Activities include strategic litigation challenging executive orders, defending statutory programs such as those under the Affordable Care Act in coordination with parties like the Department of Health and Human Services, and bringing suits involving voting rights under provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The institute also files amicus briefs in matters before the Supreme Court of the United States and state supreme courts such as the Supreme Court of California and the New York Court of Appeals, and offers student clinics modeled on programs at the University of Chicago Law School and Columbia Law School.

Notable Litigation

The institute has participated in litigation addressing emergency powers invoked by administrations such as those of President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, including challenges to executive orders and regulatory actions brought before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and district courts in Maryland and Texas. It has litigated cases raising separation-of-powers issues implicated in disputes involving the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, and filed briefs in matters concerning immigration policy at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Notable cases have touched on questions raised in precedents like Marbury v. Madison and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., and have involved parties such as state attorneys general from California, Texas, and Florida, advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice, and private litigants in sectors including healthcare and elections.

Organizational Structure and Funding

Administratively, the institute operates within Georgetown University under the umbrella of Georgetown University Law Center with a director who coordinates litigation teams, clinical instructors, and student fellows. Its staff have included attorneys with clerkship experience at the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and fellows from programs such as the Skadden Fellowship and the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fellowship. Funding sources include university support, grants from philanthropic foundations such as the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, and contributions from individual donors and law firm partners formerly at firms like Covington & Burling and WilmerHale. The institute collaborates with institutions including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and state public interest law offices.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics have questioned the institute’s advocacy choices and funding ties, citing debates similar to those surrounding the Brennan Center for Justice and the American Enterprise Institute about partisan alignment and donor influence. Scholars in journals associated with Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal have debated the institute’s litigation strategies in contexts involving doctrines from cases like Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, and commentators in outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post have scrutinized its role in politically salient challenges. Controversies have also arisen over collaborations with external organizations and the use of clinic resources for cases that some stakeholders argue align with particular policy positions, echoing disputes seen in other university-affiliated legal clinics at institutions like University of Michigan Law School and Georgetown University itself.

Category:Legal clinics Category:Georgetown University Law Center