INTERACTIVE “RACE AND EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW” (REPL) SESSION FEATURES COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS AND YOUTH ADVOCATES; FOCUSES ON THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
December 2022 — November’s Session of “Race and Equal Protection of the Law” (REPL) was facilitated by Associate Dean for Experiential Education Mae C. Quinn. The program, attended by the entire 1L class, examined racial bias and other shortcomings of our criminal legal system, with specific attention to negative impacts on youth and families of color.
As part of a town-hall style conversation, John Pace and Don “Ike” Jones from the Youth Sentencing and Re-Entry Project (YSRP) shared their own experiences as former “juvenile lifers.” The men, who are now Pennsylvania re-entry specialists, described the many challenges they faced as incarcerated youth and the great need for re-entry services for returning loved ones.
The discussion group was further informed by the expertise of Aubrey Edwards-Luce, a JD/MSW youth trauma expert who serves as the Vice President of Child Welfare and Youth Justice at First Focus on Youth. Edwards-Luce, one of Quinn’s former law students who represented youth sentenced to life imprisonment in Quinn’s clinic, was joined on stage by one of Quinn’s current students, Jamesha Caldwell. Caldwell, who worked with system-involved young people before law school, also shared insights from her recent involvement with a Dickinson Law “pop-up” clinic collaboration that provided criminal record expungement support in Carlisle.
Following the town-hall convening in the auditorium and an informal reception, students broke into their 1L class sections to continue the conversation. During the smaller group gatherings, students got to hear from Bre Stoves from the Care, Not Control group. Care, Not Control is a youth-led organization that provides a platform for system-impacted youth to share their personal experiences with a view towards ending youth incarceration. From there 1Ls actively engaged with a list of system reform proposals compiled by the youth of Care, Not Control by way of a facilitated dialog led largely by Edwards-Luce, Jones, and Pace.
Consistent with the evening’s themes of respecting lived experience and learning through direct engagement, a post-event curated list of readings and activities was provided to support 1Ls and others who may wish to learn more or become further involved with advocacy in Pennsylvania or beyond around racial justice or other issues discussed.
Professor Mae C. Quinn brings over 25 years of experience as a practicing attorney, civil rights advocate, and leader in the legal academy to her role as associate dean of experiential education. She has successfully taught across the entire law school curriculum, including legal writing, doctrinal, seminar, field placement/practicum, trial advocacy, and clinical legal education courses. She and her law students have also filed amicus briefs with the United States Supreme Court and state high courts in several important criminal and youth justice matters. Her scholarship, cited widely by courts, advocates and academics alike, has been published in leading journals including the Boston College Law Review, BYU Law Review, Iowa Law Review, SMU Law Review, Wake Forest Law Review, Washington and Lee Law Review, Harvard Journal of Gender and Law, and New York University Review of Law and Social Change.