Melody Vidmar is a Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Alaska. A former ACLU of Alaska law clerk during law school, she fell in love with Alaska and its people back in 2017 and dreamed of returning. In 2022, that dream became a reality when she joined the ACLU of Alaska staff.
Before serving as the ACLU of Alaska Staff Attorney, Melody was a Staff Attorney at the Capital Area Immigrant’s Rights (CAIR) Coalition in Washington, DC, as a part of its Immigration Impact Lab. She brought federal cases and appeals on behalf of detained immigrant adults and children. She served as counsel in Miranda v. Barr, a federal class action that advanced the constitutional rights of hundreds of detained immigrants seeking bond and allowed for the release of individuals who had been detained for months or years. She also argued the first ever successful habeas corpus petition brought in the Eastern District of Virginia for someone in discretionary immigration detention, Cardona Tejada v. Crawford, and secured his release. She also helped develop the first-of-its-kind children’s habeas petition pipeline, bringing novel arguments in federal court to get children out of immigration detention and back with their loved ones.
Melody earned her J.D. and Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies from Georgetown University Law Center, graduating cum laude. While in law school, she represented an asylum seeker through the school’s immigration clinic and was later honored to work as clinic staff. She also participated in the Human Rights Institute Fact-Finding Practicum, where she traveled to Hawaii to interview immigrant fishermen vulnerable to forced labor practices, published a human rights report, and advocated to federal policymakers. Melody holds Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Oklahoma, summa cum laude, in Anthropology and Spanish.
In her spare time, you can find Melody listening to classic rock, performing in community theater, trying any and all Indian food, and celebrating Halloween year-round.
Melody has always felt called to fight alongside vulnerable and traditionally marginalized communities, and she is thrilled to continue to do so with the ACLU of Alaska.