Asylum Victory for International Human Rights Clinic

On September 6, student attorneys Ben Rose and Halinka Zolcik of the International Human Rights Clinic argued before Judge McGrail in Denver immigration court on behalf of their seconddetained client from Eritrea.  Mr. Rose and Ms. Zolcik were supervised by attorney and professor Suzan Pritchett.  The court awarded their client asylum in the light of overwhelming evidence; in fact, the case was so convincing that the judge declined to hear a closing statement, and the government attorneys waived their right to appeal the case.  This is another big win for the International Human Rights Clinic, as well as the College of Law.  Cases like this demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the clinic program here at UW.  Mr. Rose was elated when the ruling was handed down: “For my very first trial before a judge, I could not have asked for a better team or a better clinic.  It is a powerful thing to know you have saved someone’s life.”