Five JGLS students selected for Summer Judicial Clerkships at the Supreme Court of Hawaii

Five students of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) have been selected for Summer Judicial Clerkships at the Supreme Court of Hawaii, United States. The externship programme at Honolulu, Hawaii starts in June this year.

The students selected are Sajal Mendiratta, Tanshi Bajaj, Suhas Putta, Siddharth Sharma, and Kartikeya Jaiswal. The students were selected based on their academic background and their performance in an interview conducted by judges of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

The programme was first conceived during the visit of Hawaiian Supreme Court Judge, Justice Michael Wilson in the year 2015. Till 2018, a total of 18 students of JGLS have had the opportunity to intern at the Supreme Court of Hawaii.

Lauding the students for their achievement, Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Dr) C Raj Kumar, remarked,

“This judicial clerkship will provide JGU-JGLS students an extraordinary opportunity to witness the functioning of the judicial process in the USA besides enabling them to understand the nuances of law and justice in the US legal system. They will be closely mentored by some of the most outstanding judicial minds.

This is a life changing opportunity for law students to pursue a summer clerkship programme that will empower them to understand law and also contribute to the delivery of justice in another jurisdiction. The exchange of ideas and exposure will help to broaden the horizons and perspectives of students for pursuing a future career in the judiciary.”

 Justice Michael Wilson, Judge, Supreme Court of Hawaii said,

“We are most delighted to establish this partnership with the Jindal Global Law School of O.P. Jindal Global University. We have hosted nearly 20 students from Jindal in the past years and they have been fantastic. JGLS is a world-class law school with which the Supreme Court of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii Law School has a strong partnership. It is a delight to be in India and at Jindal to witness the impressive achievements in legal education, which is a tribute to the inspiring faculty and impressive students that JGLS has attracted over the years.“

An interactive session titled ‘Candid Conversations on Careers in Law and Justice: Judges as Conscience Keepers of Democracy’, was also organized at JGU, featuring a discussion between Justices Michael Wilson and Sabrina McKenna of the Hawaiian Supreme Court and Prof Raj Kumar.

The panelists deliberated on topics like the role and motivations of a judge and the contributions of the judiciary to society and its role in protecting democracy. 

Explaining a judge’s role in ensuring democratic rights, Justice McKenna told the audience,

“The threats that a democracy faces is to be countered by law and judiciary. Lawyers have to step forward to ensure justice and make people believe in the role of law.”

She urged budding lawyers to understand the power of youth and to clamour and become agents of change, in response to questions raised by the students on the role of the judiciary in dealing with issues like pollution, climate change, pesticides etc.  

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