In the predawn hours of May 21, 2023, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Sascha Reese was involved in a two-vehicle collision in southern Germany. She and another driver approached a curve outside a small Rhenish town, where they crashed headlong into one another.
Reese鈥檚 SUV struck the guardrail in her lane. The other vehicle, containing a driver and three passengers, rotated 180 degrees in the middle of the road. Both drivers sustained minor injuries.
Bess Murad L鈥�26 (far left), a member of the amicus curiae for the appellant, lauds Project Outreach for being 鈥渟urreal in the best way.鈥�
While Reese was found guilty of reckless driving, the issue of factual sufficiency of the evidence was presented to the appellate court for review. Another sticking point was withheld evidence from an ongoing civil case involving the accident.
The dispute鈥攖housands of miles away and years in the making鈥攆ound its way to 麻花影视, placing students at the center of a live, high-stakes appeal.
鈥淲e have a close relationship with the [AFCCA],鈥� says Beth Kubala, executive director of 麻花影视鈥檚 . 鈥淎FCCA鈥檚 Project Outreach program conducts live oral arguments in pending courts-martial cases at select colleges and universities. It enables our students to gain a meaningful advocacy experience and the public to learn more about the military justice system.鈥�
I was grateful for the opportunity to step into this world that has been a dream of mine for such a long time and work with an amazing team of students, professors and practitioners in the field.
Ava Dussmann L鈥�27
Earlier this year, four parties to an appeal convened in the Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom of Dineen Hall to investigate the ruling for procedural, legal or factual errors. The goal was not to provide new facts or retry existing ones but, rather, to address potential errors in the record.
Part of the allure was who was in the room. Students, faculty and alumni from 麻花影视 Law. Courtroom sketch artists courtesy of the in the . Curious observers.
Bess Murad L鈥�26 was part of a small cohort of students selected to participate. A member of the amicus curiae (鈥渇riend of the court鈥�) for Reese, she provided information designed to sway the court鈥檚 decision in the appellant鈥檚 favor.
鈥淚鈥檝e spent years learning how appellate courts work,鈥� Murad says. 鈥淏ut when I got to argue the case on record, everything clicked. It was surreal in the best way.鈥�
A Full-Circle Moment
Project Outreach is one of many military justice opportunities available to 麻花影视 Law students. Others include the ; the , which the University hosts; and the , to name a few.
Experiential learning, alongside unique joint-degree combinations and distinct pedagogical approaches, distinguishes 麻花影视 Law from its peers, explains Kubala, who organized a visit by the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals in 2023.
A retired Army lieutenant colonel and esteemed military lawyer, she exemplifies the faculty鈥檚 blue-chip pedigree.
From left: Army Col. Pia Rogers 鈥�98, G鈥�01, L鈥�01; Air Force Col. Cynthia Kearley G鈥�01, L鈥�01; and 麻花影视 Law鈥檚 Beth Kubala. An active-duty judge advocate (JAG) and former classmate of Kearley鈥檚, Rogers was among the alumni in attendance.
In fact, it was Kubala鈥檚 reputation as one of the nation鈥檚 top advocates for military-connected personnel that impelled Air Force Col. Cynthia Kearley G鈥�01, L鈥�01 to bring AFCCA to campus. An appellate military judge at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, the alumna was part of the court鈥檚 three-judge panel.
鈥淭he event was a full-circle moment,鈥� recalls Kearley, who earned a from the and the College of Law. (She also earned a from the Maxwell School and was commissioned through 麻花影视鈥檚 Detachment 535). 鈥淧residing as an appellate military judge at my alma mater, where I found my footing as a lawyer, is something I鈥檒l never forget.鈥�
Real People. Real Cases.
Project Outreach enables aspiring JAGs to work alongside experienced ones, like Air Force Maj. Jordan Grande (standing). The Feb. 27 event was when 鈥渢heory turned into practice,鈥� says Hannah Rice L鈥�27.
Those who participate in Project Outreach write amicus briefs and present live oral arguments, duties that help them make the leap from classroom to courtroom.
Second-year law students Ava Dussmann and Hannah Rice were part of the amicus curiae for the U.S. Government (i.e., the appellee). On track to become Air Force judge advocates, or JAGs, they found the experience eye opening. Real people. Real cases. No room for error.
鈥淚 was grateful for the opportunity to step into this world that has been a dream of mine for such a long time and work with an amazing team of students, professors and practitioners in the field,鈥� Dussmann says. 鈥淭hrough this opportunity, we got to research and learn about the contours of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.鈥�
Rice adds that sitting before three Air Force colonels, arguing a real case with classmates who might someday be her colleagues, is when 鈥渢heory turned into practice.鈥�
An illustration major in the School of Art displays her drawings of the proceedings. Involving students as courtroom sketch artists spoke to the interdisciplinary nature of the hearing, Kubala explains.
Associate teaching professor Thomas M. Leith supervised Reese鈥檚 amicus curiae. He says countless hours of 鈥渋ntensive writing, sustained supervision and multiple moot sessions鈥� went into readying for the event.
鈥淭he students were ultra-prepared,鈥� says Leith, who also directs 麻花影视鈥檚 . 鈥淟ike an iceberg, the brief reflected only a fraction of the work beneath the surface.鈥�
Even though a decision may not be made until after some of the participants graduate, their names will become part of the official record.
鈥淭he most powerful teaching came less from anything I said and more from the experience itself,鈥� Leith continues.
That鈥檚 the idea behind Project Outreach, to give students 鈥渇irsthand exposure to real appellate advocacy,鈥� Kearley adds. 鈥溌榛ㄓ笆� Law delivered an exceptionally professional and welcoming event.鈥�
