Ninth Circuit Appellate Clinic Student Advocate for Davis, a California Prison Inmate's Right to Religious Freedom

Students Monique Alarcon, Eliza Haney, and Dale Ogden (pictured) worked tirelessly representing their client, Jim Davis, a California prison inmate. Davis sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for violating his right to religious freedom. A devout Muslim, Davis faithfully practiced his religion while incarcerated for almost two decades. But in 2009 and 2010, the CDCR instituted a total ban on inmates using Muslim prayer oil as part of any religious ceremony at the prison where Davis was incarcerated.  The total ban meant that prayer oils could not even be kept and used by inmates while they visited the prison chapel. 

As far as Mitchell is concerned, the students are receiving the same experience as any lawyer would. “The clinic allows students to experience both the thrill and the pressure of high stakes litigation. Appeals can be very challenging. The students this year had to learn how to communicate to our client that they are committed to winning his case, while at the same time managing his expectations and making sure he understands that there are no guarantees that he will prevail on appeal.” 

The students filed the opening brief in Davis’s case in October, and the Office of the Attorney General filed their Answer Brief on behalf of the CDCR in December. The students were scheduled to argue the case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2016, but in the end, after reading the opening brief, the CDCR agreed to settle Mr. Davis’s case out of court—and for an amount that was considerably higher than previously offered. 

“This settlement is a testament to the strength of the well-researched arguments raised in our opening brief,” Mitchell said. “I could not be more proud of our students.  And it was a tremendous victory for our client.  Anyone who has ever litigated against the CDCR will tell you how rare it is for the Department of Corrections to agree to settle a civil rights case brought by an inmate.”  Davis was very pleased with the result, as well. 

Students in the clinic also file amicus curiae briefs in cases pending in the Ninth Circuit. Instead of participating in the oral argument this spring semester, the students in the clinic are slated to file an amicus curiae brief on behalf of United States Congressmen Sam Farr (D) and Dana Rohracbacher (R) in a medical marijuana case that is pending in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.