Pro Bono Appellate Commitment
Sonnenschein is committed to using our legal talent and resources to improve the lives of those around us. This work has been a hallmark of our firm since its founding, and we proudly continue that tradition today with ever-increasing levels of dedication. Our appellate litigators from across the country dedicate thousands of hours each year serving the public interest and helping people who otherwise would be powerless. We regularly take on pro bono appellate representations in the state supreme courts, federal appellate courts, and in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Representative Pro Bono Appellate Matters
On behalf of the Tourette Syndrome Association, Sonnenschein filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court of the United States supporting a petition for writ of certiorari in a case involving important issues arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (Hjortness v. Neenah Joint School District)
On behalf of 27 international law professors, Sonnenschein filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court of the United States on the merits of a case in which two United States citizens, detained by the United States armed forces in Iraq, sought to file habeas corpus petitions in the District of Columbia contesting their impending transfer to Iraqi custody for trial on criminal charges in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. (Munaf v. Geren)
At the request of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund and on behalf of the cities of Baltimore, MD, Hightstown, NJ, Reading, PA, Santa Cruz, CA, Santa Fe, NM and Union City, NJ, Sonnenschein filed an amici curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit urging affirmance of a district court decision that had struck down the City of Hazelton’s anti-immigrant ordinance that had imposed a $1,000 per day fine for hiring an illegal immigrant or renting a residence to an illegal immigrant. (Lozano et al. v. City of Hazleton)
On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union, Sonnenschein filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court of the United States to grant a petition for writ of certiorari seeking to overturn, as violative of the “Dormant” Commerce Clause, a discriminatory tax scheme imposed on out-of-state multichannel video programming companies. (DIRECTV, Inc. et al. v. Treesh)
On behalf of Myra Sadker Advocates and six national associations dedicated to equality in sports for girls and women, Sonnenschein filed an amici curiae brief in support of petitioner Roderick Jackson in a landmark Supreme Court decision establishing that private rights of action for violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 encompass redress for retaliation for complaints about unlawful sex discrimination. (Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education)
On behalf of an inmate at the Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell, Florida, Sonnenschein successfully briefed and argued an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in which we convinced the appellate court to reverse the district court’s dismissal of our client’s ยง 1983 claim based on the use of post-arrest excessive force. (Wells v. Cramer et al.)
