Civil Rights Litigation Initiative

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Civil Rights Litigation Initiative

The Civil Rights Litigation Initiative at U-M Law School provides students with the unique opportuni

10/17/2026

Andrea De Jesus Colon (she/her) is a 2L in the JD/MPP dual-degree program at the University of Michigan Law School and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, where she is concentrating in social policy. She is also a student attorney at the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. Andrea is from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, and earned her BA in Political Science, with an emphasis in International Relations, from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus.

At Michigan Law, Andrea is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Law Reform and is externing this fall with the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project. After graduation, she hopes to continue working in the field of immigrants’ rights, fighting mass detention and deportations. In her free time, she enjoys caring for her plants, baking, and visiting the botanical gardens.

10/14/2026

CRLI would like to express its deep gratitude to the Else and Wessinger Families for providing a housing scholarship for Civil Rights Litigation Initiative student attorneys. Impressed by the work of CRLI, they created the scholarship in 2021 to provide one of its apartments rent-free to one CRLI student for the past five years. (Note: The scholarship section committee was completely separate from MLaw.)

Ku’Juana Quinn, a 3L, is the recipient of this year’s scholarship. Ku’Juana said, "Thanks to the generosity of Jordan Else and the Wessinger Family, this housing scholarship eases a significant financial burden and allows me to keep doing the work I came to law school to do. Whether it’s serving my immediate communities, fighting for educational equity across school districts, or standing against federal attacks on DEI, I’m grateful to have more space to focus on the work that matters most to me. A career in public service may not be the most lucrative, but investments like these remind me that this work matters and that I’m not in it alone. I’m truly grateful for this level of generosity and support!"

10/11/2026

Dana Craig (she/her) is 3L at Michigan Law and a student attorney with the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. She is from River Falls, WI and received her B.A. in English Literature and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before coming to law school.

At Michigan, Dana is a Book Review Editor of the Michigan Law Review, former co-chair of the Organization for Public Interest Students, and a research assistant on projects ranging from criminal procedure to LGBTQ+ rights. She looks forward to a career in civil rights impact litigation with a particular focus on gender justice and separation of church and state. Dana spent her 1L summer at the New York Civil Liberties Union and her 2L summer at Americans United. After graduating this spring, she's excited to start her career by clerking for two years. She can't wait to see what comes after that!

10/02/2026

Melissa Itzkowitz is a student attorney for the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative and a 3L at the University of Michigan Law School. Melissa is from the Boston area and earned her BA at Barnard College majoring in anthropology and minoring in Spanish and Latin American studies. She also holds an MA in social sciences and anthropology from the University of Chicago.

At Michigan Law, Melissa is the Executive Articles Editor for the Michigan Journal of Race & Law and a senior judge for Professor Kerry Kornblatt's legal practice class. She spent her 1L summer at Farmworker Legal Services in Ypsilanti and her 2L summer at civil rights firm Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers in Royal Oak. She is also an anthropology PhD student at the University of Michigan.

09/30/2026

Om Shah (he/him) is a 2L at the University of Michigan Law School and a student attorney with the Civil Rights Litigation Initiative. He is from Troy, Michigan, and received a B.A. in Public Policy with a focus in Civil Rights from the University of Michigan's Ford School.

At Michigan Law, Om serves on the boards of the National Lawyers Guild, MDefenders, and American Civil Liberties Union student organizations. He is also an Associate Editor for the Michigan Journal of Race & Law. He is passionate about combatting mass incarceration, and, after graduating, plans to do so as a public defender. In his free time, Om enjoys exploring new hobbies, including blacksmithing, trapeze, and ice climbing.

09/27/2026

Here's a story by First Amendment Watch about our case free speech case on behalf of Elin Warn Betanzo, who was fired by the EPA after she signed a petition.

09/20/2026

Just 13 miles from the University of Michigan, ICE is using the Willow Run Airport as a staging site to deport hundreds of immigrants. Kris Olsson, an immigrant rights advocate, was trying to document ICE officials as the led immigrants in shackles onto planes, when she was threatened with arrest by airport police.

Last week, CRLI wrote to the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) on behalf of Ms. Olsson explaining that she has a First Amendment right to stand on public roads on the other side of the airport fence from the airport to document government action. Here is a video of CRLI Student Attorney Leila Jiadi speaking at the WCAA Board Meeting on Thursday.

See the CRLI letter in first comment.

08/25/2026

Come celebrate public interest students' commitment to make the world a better place!

08/24/2026

CRLI Interns Day in Detroit!

08/16/2026

Congratulations to CRLI for a silver medal in the exciting 2026 Summer Clinic Olympics! Despite CRLI winning the gold medal in two out of the three events (foosball and ping pong), the Low Income Tax Clinic ended up squeaking out a one-point victory in the competition. The Clinic Olympics trophy will sit in the LITC office for a year until, with a little luck and some hard training, it will make its way back to CRLI’s office!

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701 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI
48109

Website

https://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/crli/Pages/default.aspx

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