Student Kelly Payne traveled to Chicago on Jan. 20 to urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to reinstate a lawsuit against a recycling company that has fouled the air and water in Elkhart, Ind.

A 3L, Payne argued that the judges should overturn a federal court dismissal of a lawsuit filed by an organization that represents residents of a community affected by pollutants emitted by an industrial waste processor.  She was accompanied by Professor Richard Frankel and 3L Michael Sanford, who helped with the case.

It was the second time this academic year that a student enrolled in the law school’s Appellate Litigation Clinic made oral arguments in a U.S. Court of Appeals courtroom.  

“The judges asked some really tough questions, and I think Kelly did an admirable job,” Frankel said. “She handled the questions well.”