PROFESSOR LUCY JOHNSTON-WALSH TO PRESENT ARTICLE AT DREXEL LAW
February 2024 — Professor Lucy Johnson-Walsh will present her article, “Fend for Yourself: Lifetime Consequences of Sending Kids to Municipal Courts Without Legal Representation” at Drexel Law on February 8, 2024. The article examines the municipal court system’s impact on youth without legal representation by reviewing various states’ procedures. The article also addresses the impact of increased police presence in schools and how that leads to more charges being filed against youth. The article will specifically focus on the racial disparities within the system and how Black youth are more likely to receive citations. Youth appearing in court without counsel face punishment of fines and fees, which they are likely unable to pay. The disparities within the system have lifetime consequences, impacting young peoples’ ability to obtain housing, employment and education. While the procedure of fining youth should be eliminated, providing legal representation to youth can help to eliminate the negative and disparate consequences.
Lucy Johnston-Walsh is an assistant professor of law and founding director of the Dickinson Law Children’s Advocacy Clinic. Professor Johnston-Walsh’s research, teaching and service focus on juvenile law, specifically legal challenges of youth involved in the foster care system. She supervises law students in the legal representation of youth involved in the dependency system and her scholarship directly relates to systemic issues presented through the clinic cases, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of child advocacy. Her recent scholarship has been published in both medical journals and law reviews including articles in Family Court Review, Akron Law Review and Seattle Journal for Social Justice.