Cyrus Dugger
Law Clerk to the Honorable Victoria A. Roberts,
United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan

“Last August I started clerking for Judge Roberts, a federal judge presiding in Detroit,” says Cyrus. “A clerkship lasts a single year, and during that time, along with a couple of other people, we act as the judge’s right hand, helping think through the issues. So many cases come before her court; no judge could get through them all alone. Depending on the week, I may write a draft opinion, or research a specific legal issue for the judge. What I do affects a decision, whether it’s a monetary award for damages, a disposition in a civil rights case, or a criminal sentence. That decision has implications for the future. We are leaving a trail, or a map, that other judges may approach or consider. I can say about my job that I did ‘this’ and it matters in this way—it’s concrete.”

The federal district court deals with all kinds of cases; every week brings a new, challenging situation, whether it’s two corporations angry about who owes a debt, a person claiming workplace discrimination, a rezoning dispute, or a matter of religious freedom. It’s engaging and demanding. Cyrus has tremendous respect for his judge, “an amazing African-American woman who believes in the letter of the law but who is also concerned about a just result,” he says. For Cyrus, however, the big question is what comes next. He is not interested in a position in a corporate law firm. “I am focused on impact litigation in the public interest,” he says, “in civil rights, in human rights.”

Cyrus’s passion for civil rights is long held, but certain experiences have particularly fueled his drive. Following his participation in the Spanish exchange at Milton, Cyrus heard about other Milton students involved in Amigos de las Américas. Working in Latin American communities, high school and college-aged students experience “transformational community service work” through Amigos, in health, education and environmental projects. Amigos volunteers typically raise the funds that support their expenses working in remote areas. Participants who stay with the program for a few years often become Amigos summer staff members and receive a small stipend. “I fully experience a different culture, do something that (hopefully) has a positive impact, and don’t have to pay for the privilege,” Cyrus says. “What’s better than that?” He worked for five summers, first in Bolivia and the Dominican Republic as a volunteer, then in Mexico as a project supervisor, Honduras as an assistant project director, and finally returned to Bolivia as a project director.

“This kind of work really changes your life,” Cyrus says, “especially if you are interested in social change. You work with people and groups who are often marginalized and ignored. Their situation is often impoverished in a material sense, compared to the lives of most Americans, let alone most Milton students. The comparative standard of living is so low that once you’ve experienced it, it becomes a reality check and reference point you can never let go. The other side is that the people you meet are often so happy, wonderful and amazing, the cultural experience so enriching, and the lessons learned so many, that it mentally brands you with the uplifting truth that happiness and ‘the good life’ is rarely based on material possessions. Seeing another group’s cultural realities—whether they see things in a more simple way, a more festive way, or have completely different priorities—you are broadened, philosophically, and you come away having enlarged your worldview, not to mention your circle of friends.”

Cyrus didn’t come to the idea of law school until his junior year at Brown when he took a course on the radical movements of the 1960s. The course brought to light how much government conduct, based in the use of law, broke up groups that were trying to affect change. The different groups, whether African-American or other activist groups, defined various “best ways” to achieve change differently (in voting rights, for instance), but what was consistent was the action of the government officials to infiltrate, incriminate or disrupt the effectiveness of these groups and their leaders. Law, Cyrus came to understand in a fuller sense than before, is related to racial justice. “It has been used and is still used to keep people of color from becoming unconditional citizens with the same effective rights as the white majority, and it’s important, as a person of color, to know that law, and more importantly, work to confront and change it.”

Cyrus’s résumé at NYU Law School demonstrates focus and an effort to seize every opportunity to learn and lead. He interned at Make the Road by Walking; the Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Community Law Centre in Capetown; the NYU Center for Human Rights and Global Justice; the Center for Constitutional Rights; the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; the New York State Defenders Association’s Immigrant Defense Project; and the American Civil Liberties Union’s Human Rights Program.

Having chosen law, will that career serve his interests? “Law is important, and empowering, but not enough to get things done,” Cyrus says. “Law has serious limitations, if you’re interested in social change. Ultimately, whatever you raise within the confines of the law is decided by the Supreme Court. That takes time, and you are constrained in the sense that if you are bringing a case, you can’t always say exactly what you want to say, like you could teaching political science with a Ph.D., for instance. But getting a Ph.D. has its own problems: more time, more loans, subordination to unknown advisors, possibly living where you don’t want to be for years after graduation as you begin to teach.

“You have to weigh the importance of different things on an imperfect scale, make choices, find a balance. Nothing is perfect, and you need to have your eyes open. There are few (paid) slots for public interest law (and fewer still well paid), and people who have these positions usually stay where they are. Plenty of nonprofits may want you, and you may want them, but they often don’t have the funding to pay a new salary, so you’re a volunteer or you have to wait until someone leaves. I love my job now, but it’s over in August. Then I have to make my next set of choices. Anybody need a young impact litigation lawyer with a travel bug?”

CDE

During law school, Cyrus co-chaired the NYU Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and was education chair of NYU’s Law Students for Human Rights. In his last year at NYU, he co-chaired the university’s Public Interest Law Foundation, was an articles selection editor for the NYU Review of Law and Social Change, and was selected as the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program Roger Baldwin Fellow in Civil Rights and Human Rights. After graduation, Cyrus served a fellowship in civil justice at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.

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