Supreme Court of Hawaii, USA Selects Jindal Law Students for Summer Judicial Clerkships in Honolulu
Sonipat: The students of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University have once again bagged the prestigious opportunity of Summer Judicial Clerkships at the Supreme Court of Hawaii, United States. This year, five students have been selected from JGLS to attend this externship programme at Honolulu, Hawaii starting in June.
The students selected are Sajal Mendiratta, Tanshi Bajaj, Suhas Putta, Siddharth Sharma, and Kartikeya Jaiswal and belong to the senior batches students of JGLS. Selection for this internship is based on students’ academic background and ability to cope with the requirements of the externship program including performance in the interview conducted by the judges of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. Competitively selected students of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) were also interviewed and screened by the visiting Justices for the externship opportunity at the Supreme Court, Hawaii.
Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University 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 judiciary.”
Hon’ble Mr. 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.”
Hon’ble Ms. Justice Sabrina McKenna, Judge, Supreme Court of Hawaii remarked, “I extend my heartiest congratulations to the students who have been selected to pursue this clerkship at our court. We look forward to welcoming the Jindal students to Hawaii as they have been a wonderful addition to our court’s law clerks programme all these years. I have been deeply impressed with the quality of the Jindal students and is a tribute to the quality of legal education that is imparted at the Jindal Global Law School.”
There was an interactive session entitled ‘Candid Conversations on Careers in Law and Justice: Judges as Conscience Keepers of Democracy’, organized by the Office of Career Services’ at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) on this occasion. Hon’ble Mr Justice Michael D. Wilson, Supreme Court, Hawaii and Hon’ble Justice Ms Sabrina McKenna, Supreme Court, Hawaii were in conversation with Prof. (Dr.) C Raj Kumar. The session deliberated on topics like the role and motivations of a Judge and the contributions of judiciary in the society and its role in protecting democracy.
Talking about the motivations behind becoming a judge, Justice Wilson said, “A judge is the ultimate determinant of whether authentic justice or aspirational justice will prevail in the society. And that indeed is the most important power that can motivate a person to take up judiciary and become a judge.”
Explaining a judge’s role in ensuring the democratic rights, Justice McKenna told, “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 the 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 role of the judiciary while dealing with issues like pollution, climate change, pesticides etc.
The internship programme was first conceived during the visit of the Hawaii 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.