Juvenile Law Center at 50: Ripples Felt Across the World
Juvenile Law Center has been a national leader advocating for the rights of young people in the justice system for 50 years. One of the ways in which Juvenile Law Center is unique, however, is in the role it has played shaping international law, policy and thinking on juvenile justice and in inspiring those who advocate for justice for children. This has happened in three principal ways.
First, the organization has had international impact by establishing itself as a global leader in how to advance the rights of young people in the justice system. In particular, the approaches, techniques and strategies used by Juvenile Law Center to challenge the treatment of young people in the justice system have set it apart in the field of legal advocacy for youth. With litigation as its original purpose, Juvenile Law Center has grown to become an international standard bearer with an interconnected advocacy strategy that combines legal, policy, youth-led and communications strategies to impressive effects. Working in partnership across a wide network of peers, community organizations and young people themselves, Juvenile Law Center has shown the international community how to maximize the impact of a small but mighty team. Its co-litigation, youth-led advocacy and research campaigns all demonstrate a commitment to collaborative and collegiate working that has inspired others. Throughout its history, the organization has shown others how to work together, share resources and ideas and combine energy, expertise and effort to bring about real change for youth in the justice system that crosses jurisdictions and overcomes obstacles. In particular, the work which helped bring about constitutional reform of US sentencing in juvenile cases by combining research in child development with effective litigation strategy presents a powerful illustration of Juvenile Law Center’s creative and collaborative approach. This approach, supported by the MacArthur Foundation, highlighted what can be achieved by partnering across academia and advocacy and not surprisingly, it has been replicated the world over from South Africa to New Zealand and most recently to Ireland. It also inspired the creation of the Child Law Clinic at University College Cork, a model of legal advocacy whereby students work with lawyers and others to advance the rights of youth. Marsha Levick launched the Child Law Clinic in Cork in 2010.
Second, the global influence of Juvenile Law Center can also be seen from the many substantive contributions the group has made to education, research and collaboration in other countries. Across continents and countries, Juvenile Law Center’s leaders have sought out opportunities to share their experience, expertise and knowledge with a diverse range of audiences in multiple settings. This has included presentations at international conferences in Dublin and London and network meetings in Leiden (the Netherlands) and Salzburg (Austria) where learning was shared from decades of effective legal, advocacy and policy work. The generosity underpinning this approach has enabled this experience to be understood and applied by organizations and individuals around the world who share the group’s ambition. This has been matched by an openness to learn from others too, notwithstanding the challenges of policy transfer and other more obvious differences in culture, language and legal tradition. Juvenile Law Center’s impact can be described as both transnational and transformational, transcending all the barriers that often make conversations and collaboration across boundaries so challenging.
Third, and finally, the international impact of Juvenile Law Center can also be witnessed through the thought leadership that has inspired and motivated those of us who advocate for the rights of young people in the justice system. While some of the issues addressed and problems tackled might be said to be particular to the organization’s local or national environment, Juvenile Law Center’s ambition to imagine a fairer justice system for children and to demand better treatment for those impacted has challenged those who settle for less. A further way in which Juvenile Law Center has had global impact is by making multiple contributions to peer reviewed, international publications. These have brought the work of the Centre to an international scholarly audience including through co-authorship with academic colleagues further widening their reach.
Separate from all the strategic and practical ways that Juvenile Law Center has influenced others, and the successful legal strategies that have helped bring about change in countless other jurisdictions, perhaps the greatest impact of the group can be seen in its continuous capacity to inspire and motivate others to never give up in the pursuit of justice for children. As a champion of this approach over five decades, Juvenile Law Center is a truly global phenomenon.