Meshing Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Law Enforcement

Hello CFCC Bloggers. I am currently a CFCC Fellow at UB School of Law. I was posed an intriguing question last week in class that I have been thinking about throughout the weekend. Last week’s class discussion was about Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) and Preventive Law. At the end of class, I was asked my opinion on TJ. My answer was the following: I believe that TJ is a great concept that should certainly be “applied” (for lack of a better term) by every attorney practicing law. I followed that with my reasoning.

Now, one would think, “Well that’s not a very peculiar answer.” I did not think so either, UNTIL after class when one of my fellow classmates told me that she was interested to hear my response considering what I want to do for a living. I was very thankful for this thought-provoking question. After thinking about it throughout the week and weekend, I got the idea to write this blog to explain my position of why it is that an aspiring FBI Agent would believe in Therapeutic Jurisprudence. My hope is that the “take-away” from my blog will be that even a person on the law enforcement side believes in TJ. Thus, Mr. Winick and Mr. Wexler’s idea has even persuaded those individuals who work to capture criminals.

I guess that most people think that someone who wants to spend the rest of their life arresting suspects for the awful crimes they commit would not believe there is justice in therapy. YES, I want to arrest criminals and YES, I do believe in punishment. However, just because I want to bust them and cuff them does not mean that I want them to serve significant amounts of time in our over-crowded prisons. I do believe in jail terms, but I also believe in therapy and rehabilitation and see it being successful for some, not all, criminals. In my opinion, a defendant who walks into a courtroom and is convicted of a drug charge, should be sent through rehabilitation. Depending on the severity of the drug charge and if there was violence or other crimes involved, maybe rehabilitation and a jail sentence are both beneficial.

My point is that as an FBI Agent I can only plan to do my job bringing suspects into the legal system. My hope then is that the attorneys and judges that they come before, will apply TJ so that the next time that individual crosses my path, I do not have to put handcuffs on them. Rather, I can devote my time to another criminal and I can smile confidently and thank the justice system and therapeutic jurisprudence for a successful rehabilitation.

I applaud and thank the CFCC professors, Mr. Winick, and Mr. Wexler for making me, who once thought that prison was the only therapy, believe that there are other ways in which our law can be therapeutic.

CFCC Student Fellows – the Next Generation of CFCC Bloggers

Where has the summer gone? The law school semester has begun! We at CFCC are looking forward to another great year; we take utmost pride in teaching the next generation of lawyers about family law and our major tenets, therapeutic jurisprudence and the ecology of human development. We also ensure that our students personally engage with the things they learn in the classroom through their enrollment in the CFCC Student Fellows Program.

Our Student Fellows engage in an in-depth examination of the policies and theories surrounding court reform and cutting edge issues in family law, including unified family courts. They also become involved with one of our projects, which can include research, writing, or field work. Last year, six Student Fellows supported the judges at CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP) sessions by taking notes, distributed rewards for goal achievement, and discussed strategy with the TCP team. One Student Fellow led a “Kids and Cameras Program” class to teach children about photography, and three Student Fellows created and implemented workshops for TCP parents covering legal issues ranging from truancy to school discipline to schooling options for children with chronic health conditions.

We look forward to a wide variety of research and practice projects this year, including a research project on the impact of cultural factors on children of immigrants, experiential projects with the Truancy Court Program, and more. Additionally, because our instructional philosophy for the Student Fellows Program centers on reflection, application, and discussion, we plan to use this blog as a new element of the course. We are going to allow each Student Fellow an opportunity to write about the topics they are learning, both in the classroom and through their experiential component.  We believe that this web integration can be a valuable part of our Student Fellows’ learning experience, and we encourage our readers to join in this process by responding to our student posts.

Character Matters

My name is Anthony Green and I am a mentor - I teach character-building classes for the University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) Truancy Court Program (TCP). Dr. Andres Alonso, Superintendent of Baltimore City Schools, was recently quoted in the Baltimore Sun, emphasizing the importance of attendance if we want our children to achieve academically. At the TCP, we recognize the importance of and connections among attendance, character, and academics, and we work with our TCP students to change their life paths.

We are gearing up to operate the TCP in eight Baltimore City schools starting in September, and this is the time of year when I evaluate my curriculum and reflect on my experiences over the year with TCP. At this time, I consider a number of questions, and I would like to share my answers to them and ask you for your own answers.

1. What is Character?

I have been working with students, parents, school administrators and faculty for many years. I have found that the character of a student is not only a reflection of the parent; at times, it can also be a refection of the administration and culture within a school.

The Families Matter Symposium: Working Toward a More Therapeutic Family Justice System

The invitation-only “Families Matter” Symposium was held last Thursday and Friday, June 24 and 25, at the University of Baltimore.  Co-sponsored by CFCC and the American Bar Association Section of Family Law, the symposium promises to be a powerful catalyst for change.  It was exhiliarating to participate in the exchange of groundbreaking ideas that emerge when you put together some of the leading professionals from a range disciplines to discuss how to improve the experience of children and families in the family justice system.  More exciting, however, is the fact that this group of high-powered experts is committed to move from theory to action by implementing many of their recommendations for changing the family law system.

Maryland’s Chief Judge Robert Bell’s inspiring keynote reminded participants to keep those families who are less fortunate in mind while developing a roadmap for the future, and Georgia’s retired Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, in her heartfelt concluding address, urged us to focus on the preservation of stable families when possible, even while considering the divorce process.

A small group led by CFCC Senior Fellow Gloria Danziger
discusses the availability and use of services for family
court litigants. (Photo by Chris Hart)

In between these powerful speeches, participants worked in small, interdisciplinary groups, identifying some of the most urgent problems facing the family justice system, analyzing solutions to those problems, and creating action steps for implementation.  In each small group there were some of the country’s top family lawyers, judges, mental health professionals, accountants, academics, and  domestic violence experts, each offering his/her perspective on how the current family justice system hurts children and families and what each discipline can offer to alleviate the harm.   After each small-group session, participants gathered in a plenary to  report on progress and to bounce ideas off of the larger collection of over 60 participants. 

At the end of the two days, not only did we have a rich, multidisciplinary understanding of the effects of the current system on children and families, but we also had practical action plans covering the gamut of relevant issues, from family resources to an overtaxed judicial system and many more. 

We at CFCC look forward to working with the ABA, all of the symposium’s sponsors and participants, and the wider community to implement these action plans.  The symposium has set in motion a movement toward real change, based on a holistic and therapeutic approach to family law.  Although the Families Matter Symposium accomplished so much in such a short period of time, the real work lies ahead of us.  The Families Matter initiative – a multiyear project – is just beginning.   I encourage you to become involved as we move forward.  Check back often and please check the links on CFCC’s website for recordings of both keynotes and pictures from the event.  CFCC and the ABA Section of Family Law hope to publish the proceedings shortly.   We also encourage you to join in this critical discussion on this blog and in your communities.

Youth are Different

One of the Center for Families, Children and the Courts’ (CFCC) fundamental premises is that the law must consider the realities of human development when acting upon people’s lives. Children are especially vulnerable to harm, and they also differ from adults in their capacities, understanding, and judgment. Once again, the Supreme Court has recognized this fact.

We at CFCC applaud their recent decision in Graham v. Florida, No. 08-7412, 560 U.S. (2010). Graham categorically prohibits a life without parole sentence for juveniles in non-homicide offenses. Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy (joined in the opinion by Justices Stevens, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor, and in the decision by Chief Justice Roberts) has relied heavily on Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), the case prohibiting the death penalty for crimes committed while a juvenile. Justice Kennedy wrote:

Roper established that because juveniles have lessened culpability they are less deserving of the most severe punishments. 543 U.S. at 569. As compared to adults, juveniles have “a lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility; they “are more vulnerable or susceptible to negative influences and outside pressures, including peer pressure;” and their characters are “not as well formed.” Id., at 569-70. These salient characteristics mean that “[i]t is difficult even for expert psychologists to differentiate between the juvenile offender whose crime reflects unfortunate yet transient immaturity, and the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption.” Id., at 573. Accordingly, “juvenile offenders cannot with reliability be classified among the worst of offenders.” Id., at 569. A juvenile is not absolved of responsibility for his actions, but his transgression “is not as morally reprehensible as that of an adult.” Thompson, supra, at 835. (plurality opinion). (Slip opinion, p. 16.)

Justice Kennedy goes on to explain that theories of punishment such as deterrence and incapacitation operate differently when applied to young people, and rehabilitation is an especially important goal. “A life without parole sentence improperly denies the juvenile offender a chance to demonstrate growth and maturity.” (Id., p. 22). Graham does not force states to parole youth, but it does require that they give young people a “meaningful opportunity” for release, “based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.” (Id., at 24).

Justice Roberts agreed with the Court’s decision because of the particular facts, but he was not willing to establish a categorical rule.

CFCC commends the Court’s recognition that children deserve special consideration and its willingness to preserve hope for youth who might previously have faced a sentence without end. Not decided in Graham was the validity of the sentence for young people found guilty of homicide.

A CFCC Truancy Court Program Perspective on Bullying in Schools

The local news has focused on bullying after a young girl reportedly attempted suicide in a Baltimore City School as a result of this torment. Even Dr. Alonso, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, has written an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun weighing in on the topic. It is a subject with which we at CFCC are all too familiar, as it often is identified as a cause of truancy for a number of children in our Truancy Court Program.

Truancy does not always involve the act of “playing hooky.” A child may also stay home from school in order to stay safe and avoid harassment at school. For decades, researchers have warned schools, families, and communities that bullying can lead to truancy. One student (or more) constantly physically and/or emotionally harasses another student and, as a result, the targeted child develops a complex. In response to lower self-esteem, confirmation of insecurities, fear of harassment at school, and/or concern for physical safety, the targeted child does what s/he can to stay home from school.

Parents and teachers may be unaware of such bullying because children may fear an increase of harassment if it is discovered that they have tattled.  As a possible result, a bullied child may play sick for many days in a row to avoid school.  A parent may not understand the real reason the child is staying home from school.  The school, on the other hand, may think the parent negligently is allowing his or her child to miss too much school.  While the parent gets frustrated by the school’s questioning and telephone calls, and the school loses faith in the parent’s intent to send his child to school, the child holds this secret close to his heart and continues to suffer in fear of attending school.

First Lady of Maryland and District Court Judge Catherine
Curran O'Malley (left) and law student fellow Stacy D.
Copeland (top right) listen to a TCP student during a
session at Barclay Elementary/Middle in Baltimore

The question arises: What can be done?

There is no one answer to this question, but CFCC successfully has identified, addressed and resolved numerous bullying cases in its over six years of operating the Truancy Court Program.

With everyone at the table and the calm, caring, and confidential nature of the TCP, students can divulge the real reason for their absences.  This often comes to the complete surprise of the parents and/or schools.  Once this secret is revealed, the volunteer District or Circuit Court judge places the burden on the schools to investigate and address the situation.

In one instance, the school police have addressed the bullies directly, describing possible legal ramifications of bullying.  Though removal through suspension may seem like a plausible provisional fix, Dr. Alonso correctly points out that it is not a permanent solution because it does not address the root cause of the bullying.  The impetus behind the bully’s actions may reveal a need for further guidance and intervention, so a holistic approach, with confrontation and mediation among the students, the families, and the school, is essential.  Of course, as the Gilmor Elementary School third-grade student highlighted in the news could probably tell you, schools and parents must first listen to students.  The TCP is the type of setting in which such conversation occurs – where the parents and school officials listen to the students.  A resolution that all parties have had a role in crafting is the most effective way to stop bullying now and to prevent bullying in the future.

CFCC and the ABA Family Law Section Co-Sponsor “Families Matter” Symposium

In the face of the daily barrage of news about celebrity divorces, bitter custody battles, and the fortunes that must be divided, we at the Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) are reminded of the millions of people who face an adversarial and divisive family law system during the most difficult periods of their lives. In an unprecedented collaboration, the American Bar Association (ABA) Family Law Section and CFCC are co-sponsoring an invitation-only symposium on June 24-25 at the University of Baltimore to address how to change family law practice and theory to minimize the harm done to families as they navigate the family justice system. The pairing between the ABA and CFCC is a natural partnership, given that CFCC’s mission and work focus on family justice system reform aimed at finding ways to resolve these family conflicts in a more therapeutic, holistic, less adversarial manner.

Many parents and children enter the family justice system already dealing with serious issues – drug and alcohol abuse, family violence, mental illness, poverty, debilitating illness, and grief, to name a few. The acrimonious nature of family law litigation, exacerbated when children are involved, compounds families’ existing problems. Any remnants of a family’s strength and cohesiveness are damaged irreparably as lawyers engage in protracted and divisive litigation.

The “Families Matter” symposium is a significant step forward to attempt to minimize these destructive consequences – a well-timed and much-needed response to the often insurmountable negative outcomes experienced by families and children involved in the justice system. Over the course of two days, attorneys, judges, academics, accountants, social workers, mediators, and others are convening to engage in an interdisciplinary, facilitated discussion about the practice of family law and its impact on families. Planners expect these conversations to result in a number of innovative ideas and plans to form the basis for a multi-year initiative.

We at CFCC are delighted and excited to partner with the ABA Family Law Section for this influential initiative. As we work together to change the practice of family law from an adversarial and divisive process to one that focuses on methods that aim to improve the lives of families and children, we plan to develop solutions to some of the most difficult problems facing our justice system today. All of us – families, children, communities, schools, employers, businesses – stand to benefit from this initiative.

We welcome and encourage your thoughts and contributions to this blog! Please join the conversation.