Poverty Law: Policy & Practice

Catalog description

The concept of social justice and a just society defined, in large measure, by how the legal system (which includes all branches of gernment) treats the poorest, least educated or most frail citizens, and addresses (or fails to address) their needs. This class will explore the root causes and effects of poverty, and how the legal system confronts, changes or holds in check inequality in wealth, power, access, availability of resources, and crim in America. Students will read capstone cases from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding poverty law, anti-poverty programs and the right to privacy; examine that history of civil rights impact-litigation through the advocacy strategies of the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall; explore economic exploitation in housing and the unrelenting fear of eviction and homelessness; identify discrimination against and the poverty of those with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities; and review economic inequality, racial disparity and the significant possibility of error in the criminal justice system through wrongful convictions. Senior Standing required.