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Regent University School of Law Students Visit The United States Supreme Court



Regent University School of Law (LAW) students are one step closer to the United States Supreme Court.

School of Law Students Visit
The United States Supreme Court.
Photo courtesy of Tessa Dysart.
This month, Assistant Professor Tessa Dysart took her Honors Constitutional Law class to visit the United States Supreme Court and have a Q&A session with Justice Elena Kagan.

Kagan shared her experiences and insights with students regarding her work as Solicitor General and her work on the other side of the bench.

"She's such an incredibly kind and gracious person," said Dysart. "I wanted my students to learn about the Supreme Court and how it operates…I have so much respect for her and how much she cares about the Constitution and how she comes to decisions. By observing a Supreme Court argument, the students were also able to see that not every case in front of the court is a hot-button issue, and that the court works hard to get those cases right."

Kagan was the first female dean of Harvard Law School when Dysart was a student. Second-year law student, Chris Holinger, said that Dysart's connection with Justice Kagan is what made him realize his professors are committed to helping him become not only a scholar, but a good steward.

"It was an experience that lots of law students never get to have and it just shows what a great opportunity we have to study at a school with faculty who have these kinds of relationships and are willing to put in the effort to make experiences like this possible," said Holinger. "Experiences like this challenge our thinking and force us to develop reasoned responses and makes us better thinkers, and ultimately better lawyers."

For 2L student Alison Haefner, the highlight of the trip was speaking with Justice Kagan. She appreciated the time that the justice spent with her class, answering their questions about her judicial philosophy, and both her work as Solicitor General and on the Supreme Court.

"It was truly an honor," said Haefner. "Since I started at Regent, it's become increasingly obvious to me how amazing our law professors are. Not only do they have connections with the Supreme Court justices, they care about our development enough to set up these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for us."

By Brett Wilson Tubs | November 19, 2015

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