2015-2016 Supreme Court Fellows

JAYME HERSCHKOPF is the 2015-2016 Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center, the education and research agency for the federal courts. Ms. Herschkopf joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where, as a Litigation Associate, she has represented corporations in securities litigation in federal and state courts. Ms. Herschkopf graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with an A.B. in Comparative Religion and English Literature. While at Harvard, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received several awards, including the Ruben A. Brower Prize for Excellence in the Humanities and the Harvard Hillel Senior Award in Jewish Teaching. Ms. Herschkopf then went on to receive an M.Litt in Romantic Studies, awarded with distinction, from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and a J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was Executive Editor of the Yale Journal of International Law, as well as a Board Member of the Initiative for Public Interest Law at Yale. While in law school, Ms. Herschkopf also worked with Professor William Eskridge as a Research and Teaching Assistant and served as a Student Director of the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic. Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, Ms. Herschkopf clerked for the Honorable John M. Rogers at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Lexington, Kentucky.

DEBRA A. PERLIN is the 2015-2016 Fellow assigned to the Supreme Court of the United States, within the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice. Mrs. Perlin joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, where she is a Justice Advisor in the Office of Criminal Assistance Partnerships' Justice Team. As part of her role, Mrs. Perlin conducts assessments of foreign judicial systems in order to bring them into compliance with internationally recognized standards; teaches seminars to Foreign Service officers and other staff on comparative international law; and briefs foreign judicial delegations on the American criminal justice system. She was also a contributing author to the INL Guide to Gender in the Criminal Justice System; INL Guide to Anticorruption Assistance; and the forthcoming INL Guide to Law Enforcement Assistance. After graduating from Brandeis University summa cum laude with a B.A. in International and Global Studies and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Mrs. Perlin earned a J.D., with honors, from Boston College Law School, where she received first place in the 2011 National Religious Freedom Moot CourtCompetition as well as the 2011 Drinan Award for Public Interest Law. Prior to joining INL, Mrs. Perlin was a Presidential Management Fellow with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State, and at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

PATRICK A. WOODS is the 2015-2016 Fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission, the agency responsible for establishment of policies and practices for the federal courts. Mr. Woods joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where he is clerking for the Honorable Peter W. Hall. Mr. Woods possesses a B.A. in Philosophy from Stony Brook University, where he served as a teaching assistant for both graduate and undergraduate classes. He received his J.D. from Albany Law School, graduating as valedictorian of his class. While in law school, Mr. Woods served as Editor in Chief of the Albany Law Review, a Teaching Fellow for Federal Civil Procedure, an Executive Board Member of the moot court program, and as a member of the faculty committee on academic standards. Mr. Woods has interned for the Honorable Gary L. Sharpe at the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, the Honorable Joseph C. Teresi at the New York State Supreme Court, and the Albany County District Attorney's Office. Prior to law school, he worked for Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., and prior to his position with Judge Hall, he clerked for the Honorable Richard K. Eaton at the United States Court of International Trade. Mr. Woods has published on a variety of legal topics, as well as in a peer-reviewed philosophy journal.

AMELIA G. YOWELL is the 2015-2016 Fellow assigned to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the central support entity for the Judicial Branch. Ms. Yowell joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where she is clerking for the Honorable Mary H. Murguia. Ms. Yowell earned a B.G.S., with highest distinction, in Political Science from the University of Kansas; and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School. While at Notre Dame, she was Executive Editor of the Notre Dame Law Review and a J.L. Weigand, Jr. Notre Dame Legal Education Trust Scholar. Ms. Yowell also published an empirical study of summary judgment dismissal rates within federal district courts in the wake of Scott v. Harris, which won the Arthur Abel Award for excellence in legal writing. Before her clerkship with Judge Murguia, Ms. Yowell clerked for the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and served as a Commercial Litigation Associate at Foulston Siefkin LLP. She is admitted to practice in the state of Kansas.