Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Human rights have never been more important in the United States as they are today. After more than 10 years of dormancy, the seminal work that guides public interest attorneys in incorporating human rights work has been finally updated. The Human Rights in the U.S. Handbook for Public Interest Attorneys is a handbook that provides practical direction to public interest attorneys, including clinical law teachers, legal aid attorneys, public defenders, and others, on how to use human rights in their everyday work. The Handbook invaluably advises attorneys on best practices for using human rights arguments before U.S. state and federal courts and before policymakers.
Adjacent to the Handbook, this Article argues that public interest attorneys, especially those engaged in law teaching, should consider using the Handbook in their law practice and in class. Public interest attorneys can use the Handbook to craft human rights arguments to be used in practice locally and law faculty can use the Handbook to expose law students to the numerous human rights tools available for clinic cases and projects, but also to help make room for students developing professional identities to contemplate what it means to protect and expand rights for the most vulnerable in the United States for the long term.
Recommended Citation
Bartlett, Lauren, E. Integrating Human Rights into State and Federal Court Litigation, 36 Buff. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. ___ (forthcoming 2026). Saint Louis U. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2026-13.
Included in
Courts Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Litigation Commons