Clinic Litigates Conditions of Confinement at "Supermax"
To further litigation before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”), four International Human Rights Law Clinic students (Billy Vazquez and Jacqueline Studley, pictured above, plus Jacob Hutchens and Raphaelle Maillet) interviewed their clients at the highest security federal prison in the U.S.: United States Penitentiary - ADX in Florence, Colorado, a.k.a. "Supermax."
The student attorneys practiced their client interviewing and fact investigation skills, while also learning about the particular dynamics of communicating with clients about sensitive topics in a highly restrictive environment. Through their client interviews and outreach to prisoners’ rights advocates,the studentshave developed a report for the IACHRdetailing the conditions of confinementat ADX for clients housed for decades in solitary confinement, as well as a lack of due process to be placed in less restrictive confinement.