NCJ Number
152919
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 45 Issue: 4 Dated: (1994) Pages: 3-12
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Child abuse and juvenile delinquency increasingly occupy a larger segment of lawyers' time; therefore, law schools need to prepare children's advocates adequately using experientially based juvenile justice courses.
Abstract
Although law schools have historically neglected juvenile justice as a critically important enterprise, they have an ethical and pedagogical obligation to train children's advocates. Law schools should better prepare students to deal with the practical aspects of representing children and other family members and should establish specialized courses that focus on child advocacy. The experientially based teaching model is useful for large juvenile justice lecture classes. At one university, 90 students in a juvenile justice course were divided into five-person advocacy teams to work on simulations, statutory drafting, interdisciplinary research, and writing and filing appellate documents. Small groups facilitated intimacy, cooperative learning, and comparative analysis. 41 notes and 1 table