Professor Jack Preis name Appellate Lawyer of the Week by National Law Journal

Professor John “Jack” Preis has been named “Appellate Lawyer of the Week” by the National Law Journal. Preis, who teaches Civil Procedure and Civil Litigation at the University of Richmond School of Law, will make his first argument before the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1, 2011 in a case he first read about while researching a law review article.

The case, Minneci v. Pollard, considers whether federal inmates can bring constitutional claims against employees of a private company that manages a federal prison. Preis is representing Richard Lee Pollard, a California prison inmate who claims his Eighth Amendment rights were violated when he was mistreated after falling in the prison kitchen and breaking both of his elbows.

Preis wrote to Pollard offering to represent him pro bono on appeal and has worked on the case since 2007. He never expected it would reach the Supreme Court.

The National Law Journal notes that, “The Court's decision could have a significant impact. As the United States notes in its amicus brief, there are currently 13 privately run, secure facilities housing more than 25,000 federal prisoners and numerous privately run, halfway houses holding almost 9000 more."

While preparing for his upcoming oral argument, Preis has had the assistance of numerous law students who have helped him research and edit his brief, and from School of Law Professor Kevin Walsh, a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia.