Youth in Conflict with the Law

Catalog description

This course will look at the complex relationship between children, the State, and the criminal legal system. We will examine the laws and polices that drive our nation’s treatment of children who are deemed to be in violation of the law. Using the juvenile criminal legal system as our main frame of reference we will wrestle with questions such as: What rights does a child have? Are systems in place to protect the child, the victim, or the state? What is the role of the parents when a child is accused of violating the law? What does lawyering for children in this system look like? At what age should criminal culpability for children start/end? Should children stand trial in the adult criminal legal system? What does lawyering for children in this system look like?.