Children and Family Justice Center

We are thrilled to share this recognition of Prof. Shobha Mahadev! As Shobha herself says in the article: "Nothing ever feels permanent, but I think we’ve planted seeds that have allowed for a different way to view sentencing of young people in Illinois." Wise words from a former native grasses scientist! 🌱

Be sure to read more here and congratulate her: https://www.americanbar.org/content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/groups/litigation/about/committees/childrens-rights/fearless-childrens-lawyer-of-the-month/shobha-mahadev/

This month’s Fearless Children’s Lawyer is Shobha Mahadev. Shobha is the assistant dean of the Bluhm Legal Clinic, a clinical professor of Law, and project director for the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Learn more about Shobha’s journey in public interest law: https://www.americanbar.org/content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/groups/litigation/about/committees/childrens-rights/fearless-childrens-lawyer-of-the-month/shobha-mahadev/

We're thrilled to share this writeup! It captures the enthusiasm for our clients and work that Julie brings to each interaction with her students, as well as with her colleagues around the city, state, and country.

Passion for Justice: Northwestern law prof fights for juvenile rights armed with research Biehl has advocated for kids caught up in Illinois’ juvenile justice system for 37 years, becoming a leading voice in reform. She is currently the clinical professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and the director of its Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Children and Family Justice Center.

NEW op-ed: CFJC Director Julie Biehl, Bruce Boyer of Civitas ChildLaw Center, and Nicole Negrete of The Final 5 Campaign discuss the latest damning report on the youth detention center run by the Cook County court, urging significant improvement in management, transparency, and legal compliance.

As an Equip For Equality investigation makes clear, the authors explain, "physical restraints and forced isolation are regularly employed at the same time that mental health services and educational support to youth with special learning needs are not, as required by law."

Prof. Biehl and colleagues Boyer and Negrete note that this latest report is "far from the first — or even the second — time that officials have been put on formal notice that Cook County is doing a dismal job of caring for the children being held," and offer solutions (see comments).

Op-ed: Solutions for Chicago's harmful juvenile detention center A recent report concluded that Cook County's juvenile detention practices are not helping vulnerable youth but actively harming them.

Check out our summer newsletter to catch up on our clients, students, and projects!

https://mailchi.mp/1d513d4a17b8/cfjc-in-the-news-last-week-5241861

THURSDAY - Bluhm Legal Clinic's symposium on why Chicagoans possess guns, how the criminal system responds, and what can reduce violence. You won't want to miss it!

REGISTRATION for in person and online options is FREE but required - CLE/CEU is available

Gun Possession in Chicago: What the Headlines Don't Tell You Lawyering and Race in the 21st Century Symposium

Justice can be loving, supportive, and understanding—especially towards our young people.

with me and Julie Biehl, as we explore Illinois' Juvenile Justice System and why we're reforming it.

Listen Here👉🏾: https://anchor.fm/ltgovstratton

"You’re saying there are right reasons to send them back, but we have to ask ourselves, ‘Are there right reasons to die?’ Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re deciding here.” Prof. Nzelibe's advocacy is indeed a beacon -- not only to her clients, but to her students and colleagues.

A Beacon of Hope for Asylum Seekers Professor Uzoamaka Emeka Nzelibe represents young immigrants seeking a safe haven.

In 1994, 17yo Anthony got in a fight with another teenager. He was sent to adult prison, where he might have served 3.5 years -- but due to inadequate care at IDOC and supermax solitary confinement conditions, Anthony was charged with many more offenses for institutional behavior that spiraled into a 108-year sentence.

This week, Director Julie Biehl circulated an interview with CFJC's Scott Main (who began representing Anthony in 2010) about the long legal road home for Anthony, who was released last year - including the advocacy he received from attorneys Alison Flaum and Jennifer Soble and social worker Marjorie Moss and her students.

Anthony's story is difficult - and so important. Please take a few moments to read:

www.law.northwestern.edu

What is the situation actually like for people seeking asylum at a port of entry on the US-Mexico border?

Find out in this new account of a winter break student volunteer trip led by CFJC's Uzoamaka Nzlibe, Amy Martin, and Laura Buttitta.

CFJC Immigration Attorneys and Students Help Asylum-Seekers at the Border In the final days of winter break, Children and Family Justice Center attorneys Uzoamaka Emeka Nzelibe, clinical associate professor of law, and Amy Martin, Immigration Law Fellow, led a dozen Northwestern Law students to Tijuana, Mexico where they spent three days volunteering with Al Otro Lado, a....

We're excited for next week...help us to plan for you - register today!

https://jhavsymposium.eventbrite.com/

We are proud to join Cabrini Green Legal Aid to present an all-day special event on October 30, discussing the criminalization of race, gender & youth! Please join us -- registration* is free: https://jhavsymposium.eventbrite.com/

* CLE/CEU fees, if any, will be nominal