STU Scholarly Works (St. Thomas University)
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Lawson Edward Thomas and Miami\u27s Negro Municipal Court
No full textLawson Edward Thomas, born in 1898 in Ocala, Florida, was both Miami\u27s first black judge and the first black judge in the South since reconstruction. The municipal court Thomas presided over was located within Miami\u27s Black Police Precinct and handled only cases involving black defendants arrested by black patrolmen. In other words, in 1950, Miami established a municipal court on purely racial lines. Amazingly, considerable research has not revealed a single scholarly article written about Miami\u27s all-black court; Marvin Dunn\u27s Black Miami in the Twentieth Century contains only four sentences on L.E. Thomas. Even Miami-Dade County\u27s local court historian seems to know next to nothing about the court Thomas had presided over. In addition, as of this writing, the old municipal court records have seemingly disappeared. Miami-Dade County\u27s court archivist explained that an earlier records custodian may have simply thrown the court\u27s records away believing them to be historically unimportant. This article hopes to convince the reader that Miami\u27s Negro Municipal Court, the United States\u27 first, and perhaps only, court ever set up on purely racial lines is both historically important and worthy of scholarly attention
Practicing (and Teaching) Therapeutic Jurisprudence: Importing Social Work Principles and Techniques into Clinical Legal Education
No full textPracticing Therapeutic Jurisprudence ( TJ ) requires proponents to advance a particular normative framework. As a clinical social worker turned lawyer, who is now also a clinical law teacher, I believe strongly that the field of social work provides a useful framework for legal education and practice. As I will demonstrate through examples from my teaching and my students\u27 practice experiences, the role of the clinical law teacher is uniquely and well suited to apply social work values, principles, concepts, and techniques. By importing these core social work elements into the clinical legal education, faculty can truly teach future lawyers to practice TJ in a meaningful way
The Birth of a Therapeutic Courts Externship Program: Hard Labor but Worth the Effort
No full textIn this article, we focus on the use of externships to introduce law students to the concepts of Therapeutic Jurisprudence and problem solving courts (also referred to herein as therapeutic courts). We begin with an examination of the birth of William & Mary Law School\u27s therapeutic courts practice externship, arguably the most comprehensive externship of its kind. Next, we will focus on an alternative model of a therapeutic court externship clinic, still in its infancy, at the University of Miami School of Law. Our goals are both simple and lofty. We want as many law students as possible to be exposed to the field of Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the concept of therapeutic courts. We have seen first hand that the benefits of such exposure are tremendous. Thus, we hope that by sharing our birth stories we will encourage other law schools to contemplate ways in which these paradigms can be incorporated into their own clinical curriculum. Finally, we hope to contribute to the growing scholarship about externship pedagogy by using our own experiences as text
Opening Another Exit from Child Welfare for Special Needs Children - Why Some Gay Men and Lesbians Should Have the Privilege to Adopt Children in Florida
No full textThis article addresses the question of whether some gay and lesbian adults should be permitted to adopt any children in the State of Florida, especially children with special needs. Part I more clearly describes children with special needs. Part II discusses who may adopt special needs children. Part III briefly covers gay and lesbian adoption statistics. Part IV sets forth general and specific factors that may be used in determining whether a particular gay man or lesbian is suitable for adopting children in Florida. This section also enumerates and discusses reasons that are offered to support bans on same-sex adoption. Part V focuses on how well gays and lesbians have cared for children as licensed foster parents in Florida. Part VI takes a look at how times have changed so that society as a whole is more accepting of gay men and lesbians. Throughout the article, relevant parts of the Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services\u27° opinion are discussed. Finally, in Part VII, I conclude that the State of Florida\u27s legislature should repeal section 63.042(c)(3) of the Florida adoption statutes and amend section 63.042(c)(2) to allow same-sex adoption. Because there are so many more children who are available for adoption than there are prospective parents who are willing to adopt them, this unjustifiable barrier to gay and lesbian adoption should be removed. As a result, with diligent case-by-case investigations of all applicants, more children, especially special needs children, will be placed in secure, loving and caring homes
Lawrence, Lofton, and Reasoned Judgment: On Who Can Adopt and Why
No full textRecently, in Lofton v. Security of Department of Children & Family Services, the Eleventh Circuit upheld Florida\u27s gay adoption ban. The opinion is important for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that it was issued after the United States Supreme Court had decided Lawrence v. Texas. The Lofton court\u27s reading of Lawrence was so implausible that it would have been easy for the Supreme Court to have reversed Lofton, while nonetheless offering an analysis significantly narrower than Lawrence. Regrettably, the Supreme Court denied certiorari when the decision was appealed, so we will simply have to wait and see whether the Court\u27s equal protection and due process jurisprudence have suddenly become less robust than they were before Lawrence was decided, or whether the Court is biding its time in making clear that Lofton-like analyses are simply wrong as a matter of law. Part II of this article discusses Lofton in light of Lawrence, suggesting that the Lofton analysis of Lawrence is utterly implausible. Part III discusses Lofton\u27s deferential review of the Florida statute, suggesting that the rationales offered for the statute are not credible and, further, that they would not support the current statute even if they were believable. The article concludes by suggesting that the United States Supreme Court should have granted certiorari and reversed Lofton. Also, when the Court finally does hear a Lofton-like case, it may well issue an opinion much broader than the Lofton reversal would have been, making Lofton supporters rue the day that the Court denied Lofton\u27s petition for a writ of certiorari
The New Dialogue of Civilizations
No full textThis book is an international collection of reflections, statements, and resources responding to the United Nations call for a new “dialogue among civilizations,” a theme taken up by the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in relation to its work on behalf of a “Culture of Peace.” These contributions were occasioned by the 11 September 2002 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. They come from members around the world of Pax Romana / International Catholic Movement for Intellectual & Cultural Affairs (ICMICA), and were gathered by the US federation of Pax Romana / ICMICA.https://scholarship.stu.edu/faculty_books/1010/thumbnail.jp
Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Preventative Law in the Thomas M. Cooley Sixty Plus, Inc., Elder Law Clinic
No full textGertrude Smith phones the SixtyPlus, Inc., Elderlaw Clinic ( Clinic ) to schedule an appointment. She informs the receptionist that she wants to come to the Clinic so she can get a trust. Ms. Smith is scheduled for an intake appointment to meet with two student legal interns ( interns ). Ms. Smith arrives for her appointment, is introduced to the interns, and agrees to be interviewed. The senior intern (a student in her second term at the Clinic) begins the interview by asking Ms. Smith what brought her to the Clinic. Ms. Smith reiterates that she wants a trust because it is the best thing for everyone. The senior intern asks what Ms. Smith means by that. The interview reveals that Ms. Smith is a widow and has four living, adult children, one deceased child, and seven adult grandchildren. Ms. Smith explains that she does not want her children to have to go through probate. Had Ms. Smith made an appointment with an attorney who is not familiar with the principles of Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Preventative Law, she might have only been asked why she came to the attorney and then answered some questions to get details about her assets. Then she might have been sent on her way. It is likely that she would have returned one time to sign paperwork and get her bill for 2,000. Fortunately for Ms. Smith, the Clinic is client-centered. The interns are taught to converse with their client, and to listen to what the client hopes to accomplish and why their client wants to accomplish that goal. This deeper look into clients\u27 goals and values aids the interns in exploring various legal resolutions and explaining how these options might impact the clients\u27 personal priorities. The Clinic uses a variety of methods to introduce interns to the principles of Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Preventative Law. These methods include: teaching interns client-centered interviewing and counseling techniques; requiring interns to act as guardians ad litem and perform guardianship reviews for area probate courts; inviting clients to an end-of-the-term reception to provide an opportunity to thank clients for their participation in the interns\u27 legal education; and encouraging interns to learn if their clients are facing other legal concerns (prior to allowing the interns to close clients\u27 files)
Reflections on the Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Creative Problem Solving, and Clinical Education in the Transactional Curriculum
No full textTaking Hold of the Elephant in Child Dependency and Neglect Cases
No full textIn order to place this article in context, I will first describe Tennessee\u27s practice rule for attorneys representing children as Guardians ad Litem. It is an example of the Elephant, the many component parts of a child\u27s life that the child\u27s lawyer is required to bring together to represent the child holistically. In Part II, I will describe and apply three developing jurisprudential movements that embrace the techniques I utilize: interdisciplinary practice, creative problem-solving and Therapeutic Jurisprudence. In Part III, I will provide an overview of ecomaps and genograms as they are commonly used in the social sciences. In Part IV, I will introduce the hypothetical Rolle Family, whom I use to teach these integrating devices, and I will draw the Rolle Family ecomap and genogram. Part V will discuss the ways in which my law students have used these devices in the clinical setting. They have expanded my views about the efficacy of these devices, and, as a result of adopting them, they have enriched their practice before the juvenile court. I will conclude with the opportunities offered by these devices to expand the repertoire of the interdisciplinary, problem-solving and Therapeutic Jurisprudence movements in legal education through the introduction of concrete analytical tools, to the ultimate edification of law students, as well as their future clients
Therapeutic Jurisprudence - An Australian Perspective
No full textAt a recent conference in Crete on Ethics and Professional Responsibilities, I had the privilege of meeting David B. Wexler and hearing his presentation on Therapeutic Jurisprudence. I also had the advantage of reading his article entitled Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Rehabilitative Role of the Criminal Defense Lawyer. Over a cup of good Greek coffee, Mr. Wexler asked me about developments in this area in Australia and suggested I might contribute to a forthcoming publication. The short answer is that there has been little development in academic circles compared to the work being done by Mr. Wexler and others in the United States and little development within the Australian legal profession. However, there is real development, particularly in the State of Victoria, at the instigation of our Justice Department headed by the Attorney General, the Honorable Rob Hulls