Who knew Michael Rebell had the comic touch?
Rebell, Professor of Law & Educational Practice and Executive Director of 911爆料网鈥檚 , has jousted with adversaries in state courts and academic forums, winning billion-dollar judgments on behalf of poor and minority students.
But matching wits with comedian Jaboukie Young-White on the Daily Show was definitely a first鈥� and Rebell gave as good as he got in a clever segment on that he鈥檚 filed in Rhode Island to ensure that the state provides students with the skills they need to function as active and engaged citizens.
YOUR WITNESS The Daily Show's Jaboukie Young-White puts Michael Rebell in the cross-hairs.
Unfazed at being introduced as 鈥渢he oldest person I know,鈥� Rebell countered by asking Young-White if he could name the three branches of government (fact: 50 percent of the American public can鈥檛) and took him to task for confusing the actors in 鈥淭he Avengers鈥� with the Justices of the Supreme Court. He did, however, grant Young-White a hall pass to go to the bathroom 鈥� and somehow managed to keep steering the conversation back to the business at hand, as in this exchange:
Young-White: 鈥淪o why did you decide to sue Rhode Island instead of a state that everyone hates, like New Jersey?鈥�
Rebell: 鈥淲e looked at what states have the worst education systems when it comes to civics and also where would the community be supportive. If we get to the Supreme Court to declare that there鈥檚 a national right to education, state legislatures and school systems will act on it 鈥� it鈥檒l make a huge difference.鈥�
The segment also features two of the students who are plaintiffs in the case, Aleita Cook and Musah Mohammed Sesay, who are manifestly unconvinced when Young-White pretends to be a transfer student at their school.
Oral argument in the case, Cook (A.C.) v. Raimondo, is expected to take place this summer and a decision is expected to be rendered in the fall.