Dawinder S. Sidhu Selected as 2013-14 Supreme Court Fellow

By Indiawest

United States: Dawinder S. Sidhu, an assistant professor of law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, has been selected as a 2013-2014 Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission.

The Supreme Court Fellows Program was created in 1973 by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger to provide promising individuals with a first-hand understanding of the federal government, in particular, the judicial branch. In the words of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., the program offers “a unique opportunity for exceptional individuals to contribute to the administration of justice at the national level.”

Each year fellows work with top officials in the judicial branch of government. With assignments at the Supreme Court, the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts, and the U. S. Sentencing Commission, fellows have been involved in various projects examining the federal judicial process and seeking, proposing, and implementing solutions to problems in the administration of justice.

As a fellow at the U. S. Sentencing Commission, Sidhu will conduct legal research concerning sentencing guideline issues and legislative directives pending before the commission. The Indian American lawyer’s fellowship begins in the fall.

Before joining the University of New Mexico School of Law, Sidhu taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and held research and fellowship posts at Harvard University, Georgetown University Law Center, and Stanford University.

He has also worked as an attorney in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and served as a law clerk for Judge David G. Campbell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

The lawyer has co-authored a book, “Civil Rights in Wartime: The Post-9/11 Sikh Experience,” published in 2009. His writings have been published in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.

Sidhu earned a B.A., cum laude, in philosophy, from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000, an M.A. in government from Johns Hopkins University in 2003, and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in 2004.

Supreme Court Fellows are selected by a commission composed of nine members selected by the Chief Justice of the United States.

Read more at www.indiawest.com