{"id":3105,"date":"2026-06-19T12:09:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:09:32","slug":"meet-the-law-students-working-to-bring-workplace-protections-to-federal-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105","title":{"rendered":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Law schools often push students to work for the federal courts, in prestigious jobs as interns or clerks.<\/p>

Read more US-Iran talks in Switzerland canceled. And, DHS to give police facial recognition app<\/a><\/p>

But those students can get a harsh surprise when they learn judges exercise near total control over their hours, holidays and work culture. And there’s no clear way to complain or sue outside that system.<\/p>

A group of law students at Emory University in Atlanta is trying to change that. They recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case that challenges the internal system the judiciary uses to police itself.<\/p>

Unlike most other American workers, tens of thousands of people who work for the federal courts are not covered by landmark civil rights protections\u2014and they cannot turn to an independent agency for help if they experience harassment or discrimination on the job.<\/p>\n

Sofia Bettini, a recent Emory graduate who worked on the Supreme Court petition, said it was a “no brainer” for the students to pick this issue out of several other requests for help that came their way at the university’s<\/p>

“You may not know as a student entering a clerkship that you’re going to forgo certain workplace protections that you otherwise would never have to even consider forgoing because they just seem that fundamental,” Bettini said.<\/p>

Many of her friends and colleagues expect to take jobs in the courts someday. So the plight of clerks, probation officers and public defenders who work for the judicial branch felt personal.<\/p>

“They have nowhere to turn, no independent enforcer, no neutral decision maker and there exists a very real threat that speaking up will cost them everything,” Bettini said.<\/p>

Bettini and nine other students in the program spent weeks researching the facts and the law. They’re working to support a former federal public defender, who says she faced sexual harassment on the job.<\/p>

\n
\n\"An<\/picture>
\n

Investigations <\/h3>\n

In the federal court system, law clerks find little recourse for bullying and abuse<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Professor Paul Koster said it’s the only student-led Supreme Court litigation program in the country.<\/p>

“These students aren’t getting credits for this, they’re not getting graded on this, they’re doing the work because they want to do the work,” Koster said.<\/p>

Current system provides due process for some<\/h3>

At the center of the case is the unique system the courts use to police themselves and whether it gives workers due process and equal protection under the law.<\/p>

Student Andrew Taramykin said the judiciary is a special place, with some 30,000 employees.<\/p>\n\n

“Yes it’s a huge employer but in many ways it’s a small community,” said Taramykin, who will enter his third and final year of law school in the fall.<\/p>

Read more Some local police have access to an ICE facial recognition app<\/a><\/p>

He spent hours researching a fundamental civil rights law, known as Title VII, for that Supreme Court petition.<\/p>

“Title VII goes back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and it prohibits certain unlawful workplace conduct that includes what we generally understand as workplace harassment, workplace discrimination,” he said.<\/p>

By 1995, lawmakers had passed a new law to extend those protections to workers in Congress. And Taramykin said by his read, Congress intended federal court employees to get protections too. <\/p>

Every federal circuit court has since developed its own human resources program for workers to resolve disputes. Those rules typically leavejudges to oversee complaints against people they know and might work with every day.<\/p>

The Emory law students said that’s not the kind of neutral, independent decision making that’s promisedin the civil rights law.<\/p>

“Autonomy for the institution cannot come at the cost of basic workplace rights and safety for people within it,” Bettini said.<\/p>

An earlier NPR investigation found clerks and other employees who face abuse in the courts often find little recourse. <\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"Victims<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Investigations <\/h3>\n

Victims of harassment by federal judges often find the judiciary is above the law <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Judicial misconduct is drawing fresh attention<\/h3>

Caryn Strickland, the former public defender who says she faced harassment at work, said she’s proud of the students for taking up her cause.<\/p>

“The shortcomings in civil rights protections for the judiciary’s 30,000 employees will only be addressed if the legal community is willing to stand up publicly against this serious injustice,” Strickland said in a written statement to NPR.<\/p>

A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington declined comment on the case. But that office has been defending the judiciary’s internal system as robust. And they’ve said changes are underway to make it easier to report wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court has asked the Justice Department for a response to the students’ petition \u2014due next month.<\/p>

\n
\n\n
\n
\"The<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
\n

Law <\/h3>\n

Federal judges face scrutiny after alleged misconduct in 3 states<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The law student-drafted petition comes as misconduct in the judiciary is drawing renewed attention. This month, three federal judges in three different states came under scrutiny for their behavior off the bench. <\/p>

Impeachment by Congress is the most severe sanction federal judges can experience. But just 15 judges have been impeached, and only eight removed from office.<\/p>

Read more What you need to know about the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement signed by Trump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A student-led group at Emory Law School has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the judiciary’s system for policing bad behavior within its own ranks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A student-led group at Emory Law School has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the judiciary's system for policing bad behavior within its own ranks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1971x1969+1327+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F18%2Ff2%2F9c9a8192460db97543379d01b31f%2Flead2-final-new.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"headline\":\"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105\"},\"wordCount\":892,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105\",\"name\":\"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on the morning of the Birthright Citizenship case arguments. General photos of the Sup. Ct.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?p=3105#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Best USA Movers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bestusamoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers","og_description":"A student-led group at Emory Law School has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the judiciary's system for policing bad behavior within its own ranks.","og_url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105","og_site_name":"Best USA Movers","article_published_time":"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1971x1969+1327+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F18%2Ff2%2F9c9a8192460db97543379d01b31f%2Flead2-final-new.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"headline":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts","datePublished":"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105"},"wordCount":892,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105","name":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts - Best USA Movers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-19T12:09:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/b2739b174d0dda0833672f7f6a9490a7-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on the morning of the Birthright Citizenship case arguments. General photos of the Sup. Ct."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=3105#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet the law students working to bring workplace protections to federal courts"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/","name":"Best USA Movers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3f4fef4452a41b72c331a70422221f40","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bestusamoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}