Course Offerings
The University of Michigan Law School offers a wide array of classes for students interested in children's law. In addition to clinical offerings focused on developing trial and appellate skills in child welfare and juvenile justice cases, the law school has a number of doctrinal courses and seminars in the field.
Child Advocacy Law Clinic (CALC)
See CALC's home page for a description of the clinic and more information.
Children and the Law
This course examines the legal relationships among children, family and the state, primarily in the context of issues over which juvenile courts traditionally have jurisdiction. Particular attention is given to the interplay and often conflicting interests of children, parents, and the state. The class looks at how the law divides responsibility for children between parents and the state, and considers how the balance should be drawn. Additionally, the law and policy governing parental rights, child abuse and neglect, foster care, adoption, and education are studied.
See attached syllabus.
Family Law Litigation Practicum
Lawyers representing clients in legal proceedings involving children, such as divorce, custody, or child protection cases, face unique challenges. They must learn to interview and counsel clients in emotional distress. They must zealously advocate for their client's wishes while remaining sensitive to the needs of the child, whose best interests remain the court's paramount concern. This dynamic complicates strategic decisions that have to be made regarding the presentation of the case, including filing motions, calling and questioning witnesses, making objections, and negotiating with other parties. Additionally, they must learn to work with actors, foreign to other civil proceedings, such as the Friend of the Court, mediators, social workers, and guardians ad litem.
This course, which will be held in the Washtenaw County Courthouse, will familiarize students with essentials of advocacy in these unique cases. Focus will be given on building a case theory, developing skills such as interviewing and counseling clients, negotiating with opposing counsel and pro se litigants, working with third parties and experts, and drafting pre-trial motions and trial briefs. Additionally, students will work on applying traditional trial skills (opening statements, closing arguments, questioning witnesses) to children's law cases. Each week, students will practice these skills through simulations and will receive feedback from the professors. Students, in thinking about creative advocacy, will also reflect on and critique the legal standards applied in these cases. Throughout the course, the importance of professionalism and legal ethics will be emphasized. The course will culminate in a mock trial, which will be videotaped for the purposes of evaluation.
Juvenile Justice Class
This course focuses primarily on the application of criminal law and criminal procedure to minors. It addresses how the criminal law dealt with juveniles before the establishment of the first juvenile court; the history of the juvenile court; the introduction of due process principles into juvenile delinquency proceedings in the 1960s and the counter-reformation which followed; procedural protections afforded to minors and how they differ from procedural protections in place for adults; the role of counsel in representing a juvenile charged with delinquency. In addressing these issues we will consider legal doctrine, sociological and psychological theories as to why youth violate the law, and criminal justice policy and recent discoveries in adolescent brain development and their impact on criminal responsibility and culpability. Finally, the course will consider dispositional options available to courts and will explore which are most effective in reducing further law breaking.
See attached syllabus.
Juvenile Justice Clinic
In the Juvenile Justice Clinic, students will represent minors charged with violations of the criminal law and status offenses in Michigan’s family courts. While primarily a litigation clinic, students may from time-to-time handle appellate matters and may be involved in public policy issues such as analyzing proposed legislation.
In the course of clinic, students will develop litigation skills including case investigation, trial preparation, and presenting evidence and argument in the courtroom. Casework, which is supervised by a clinical professor, may involve client interviewing and counseling, legal research and motion drafting, negotiation with prosecuting authorities, and courtroom presentation of the case. In addition to trial advocacy and casework, classroom sessions will also focus on legal ethics, the basics of child development and other topics.
See attached syllabus.
For your convenience, we have listed several websites that deal in juvenile justice issues: