Dawinder S. Sidhu, an assistant professor of law at the UNM School of Law, has been selected as the 2013-14 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 firsthand 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 the fellow at the U. S. Sentencing Commission, Sidhu will conduct legal research concerning sentencing guideline issues and legislative directives pending before the commission. His 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 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.

He 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, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and 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 George Washington University Law School in 2004.

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

Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales (505) 277-5920; email: cgonzal@unm.edu