Professor Johnston-Walsh’s Article Accepted for Publication by Fordham Urban Law Journal

PROFESSOR JOHNSTON-WALSH’S ARTICLE ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION BY FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL

April 2024 — Professor Lucy Johnston-Walsh’s article, “Fend for Yourself: Lifetime Consequences of Sending Kids to Municipal Courts without Legal Representation,” co-authored by Tom Welshonce, was accepted for publication in Volume 52.1, Fall 2024, of the Fordham Urban Law Journal.

Professor Johnston-Walsh is the founding director of the Penn State Dickinson Law’s Children’s Advocacy Clinic. The Clinic receives court appointments to represent youth who are involved in the juvenile court system. Professor Johnston-Walsh supervises law students in the clinic program. As part of this work, she has directly observed the negative consequences of youth appearing in municipal court proceedings without legal representation. The Children’s Advocacy Clinic recently expanded the scope of services offered by representing clients in Magisterial District Court hearings. Professor Johnston-Walsh has worked closely with co-author Tom Welshonce who directs the Expansion Project of KidsVoice, representing clients in Magisterial District Court hearings in Allegheny County. The article examines the lifetime consequences for youth who appear in these proceedings without legal representation. The article also reviews the disproportionate impact of these charges on youth of color, and the correlation to increased police presence within schools. The authors propose strategies to decrease the negative impact of youth, such as eliminating the practice of charging fines and fees for young people unable to pay such costs.

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.