Spring 2020 Education, Defense & Justice for Youth: Youth Defender Clinical Student

Sam was a creative and compassionate advocate who embodied holistic lawyering at its best. Sam recognized that youth do not belong in the juvenile legal system, and she fought hard to keep her young client out of it, a client whom Sam would tell you needed support, stability, and access to resources, not probation. To this end, Sam, working alongside an EBCLC social work intern, built a relationship with her client by showing up for her, at school, in the community, and in the courtroom. Sam helped her client navigate the restorative justice process, and when her client was facing new charges, she worked up the case aggressively, investigating in the field and researching the law to put pressure on the District Attorney to dismiss the case. Sam did all of this because she believed in her client and believed that her young client has a right to a future outside of the juvenile legal system.

– Education, Defense & Justice for Youth: Youth Defender Clinic