1st Amendment Clinic

Meet the Team 

The clinic is led by Professor Denise M. Harle, a clinical professor and nationally recognized expert in constitutional law. Professor Harle is also the Conscience Liberty Branch Head at the Institute for Governance and Civics. She brings decades of high-level legal experience to her role, having served as senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, deputy solicitor general in the Florida Attorney General’s Office, and a partner at Shutts & Bowen LLP. Professor Harle has briefed and argued cases involving complex constitutional questions before both state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. A frequent commentator and invited speaker on constitutional matters, she has been featured in major national media outlets and has testified before the U.S. Senate on issues of constitutional significance.

Sheena Kelly is the supervising staff attorney of the First Amendment Clinic and the Institute for Governance and Civics (IGC), where she mentors the next generation of lawyers through hands-on, real-world experience. Prior to joining FSU Law, Kelly worked as an assistant state attorney in Broward County, prosecuting cases involving juvenile offenders, habitual violent felony offenders, and prison release reoffenders. She later worked as an assistant attorney general for the state of Florida, where she litigated complex appeals in first-degree murder cases involving death sentences, providing trial support and legal guidance to prosecutors statewide, and appeared before both state and federal courts, including the Florida Supreme Court.