Clinic Newsletter Spring 2012

SPRING 2012

SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, IMMIGRATION LAW AND STREET LAW

CLINICS

CITIZENSHIP CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEERS GARNER CONGRESSIONAL RECOGNITION outhwestern students volunteered to assist eligible immigrants become U.S. citizens at the annual Ya Es Hora! (It’s the Time) Citizenship Campaign.

Under the supervision of Professor Julia Vázquez, students received substantive law training on campus in preparation for the day-long workshop.

They then worked alongside American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) volunteer attorneys to assist Immigration Law Clinic students Yixi Cuadra and over 500 eligible immigrants Amanda Gutin carefully review documents while assisting legal permanent residents with their in navigating the naturalization applications. naturalization process and completed their applications.

These students flagged challenging cases and provided key legal analysis to AILA attorneys who supervised cases with unique facts.

Congresswoman Judy Chu honored the efforts of the Southwestern students with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for their “dedication to the community and commitment to helping others on their path to become American Citizens.” The event helped fulfill the organizers’ national campaign to assist the over 7.9 million legal permanent residents seeking citizenship by providing legal assistance to low income community members who could not otherwise afford legal representation. The Immigration Law Clinic looks forward to organizing future immigration-related volunteer opportunities in hopes of instilling the tradition of pro-bono legal service for underserved communities.

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CLINIC

NEWSLETTER INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 2 Children’s Rights Clinic 4 Immigration Law Clinic 5 Street Law Clinic and Public Service Program

STREET LAW STUDENTS TEACH LIFE SKILLS AT AVIVA HIGH SCHOOL outhwestern students Joy Kraft and Barbara Reguengo spent one afternoon each week this fall teaching Street Law to the students in Mr. Gerhardt’s class at Aviva High School in Los Angeles.

The law-related lessons are interactive and the topics are all practical as they relate to life skills needed as the teens begin their transition to adulthood. For example, at 18, they will be of legal age to sign a contract, including a lease.

The Aviva students learned that if they and a friend rent an apartment together, but one later decides to live elsewhere, they are still responsible for the full rent amount on the lease. They also learned their rights and responsibilities as a tenant, something that is very helpful when looking for housing and to prevent homelessness, a large problem for court-involved youth. In class, they role-play an interview with the apartment manager so they know the questions they should ask regarding the terms of the lease and how to negotiate for themselves.

Other topics include education, employment, consumer, criminal and health law issues. Joy and Barbara also met with the girls outside of the weekly class, and prepared a resource binder specific to each student. These binders were presented at their last class meeting and

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During the Fall 2011 semester, Immigration Law Clinic students provided approximately 3,800 hours of free legal services to women and children on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and U visa cases.

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Southwestern’s Children’s Rights Clinic (CRC) provides representation to low-income children in the areas of school discipline, special education and other education related issues. The clinic is staffed by law students who represent clients under the supervision of Professors Julie Waterstone and Jenny R. Fee. Students have the opportunity in a real-life context to hone their lawyering skills such as interviewing, negotiating, counseling, pre-trial litigation and oral advocacy.

A NOTE FROM PROFESSOR WATERSTONE he CRC opened its doors four years ago with only four students. In that inaugural semester, we served ten clients. This past semester, we had our largest clinic class yet with the largest caseload of any semester. We had 12 students who served approximately 53 clients. Some students had as many as ten clients throughout the course of the semester.

The Fall 2011 CRC students included Jessica Balady, Ashley Bedingfield, David Bransky, Stacy Madden Faust, Kiyomi Kowalski, Michael Laufer, Katherine Lawrence, Shareen Nizami, Christina Reif, Vanessa Rodriguez, Johnny Rundell and Caroline Tahmassian, a devoted and diligent group who worked tirelessly for our clients.

Here are a few success stories to highlight:

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We represented a 14-year-old boy with autism who began demonstrating behaviors consistent with schizophrenia. We advocated for the school district to conduct a mental health evaluation. Given the current state of mental health services for children with special needs in California, obtaining the necessary services for this child was going to be difficult. Our students convinced the school to provide the necessary services to allow this young boy to access his education.

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We represented a 4-year-old boy with autism who was not receiving behavior intervention services by the school district. Our students successfully advocated to put appropriate behavior services in place to allow this little boy to remain in a general education setting, make academic and social progress, and be able to interact with typically developing peers.

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We represented a 10-year-old boy from the foster care system with diagnoses of ADHD, Bipolar Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who was being recommended for expulsion from school for causing a disturbance in the classroom. When we began our representation, this young boy was not receiving special education or any related services. Through our students’ advocacy, we convinced the school district to halt the expulsion proceedings and evaluate him for special education. This young boy is now receiving special education, mental health services and is attending a nonpublic school.

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We represented a 16-year-old girl who was being detained by juvenile hall solely because the court did not have an appropriate placement for her. Suffering from depression and bipolar disorder,

this girl had been hospitalized several times and was in need of a residential treatment facility. Our students advocated to have her placed in an appropriate treatment center that will be able to appropriately serve her needs. n

We represented a 12-year-old girl who was being recommended for expulsion for playing an inappropriate game with her friends.

This student was engaging in a widely known game on campus where students would hit each other from behind and run away.

This young girl had good grades and had never been in trouble before. One of our students was able to convince the school district to give this young girl a second chance. As a result, she was not expelled, but was transferred to a new school for a fresh start.

In addition to case representation, our students also spoke to 5 different community organizations informing them of parents’ rights under the special education and school discipline laws. Through these information sessions, they were also able to promote the good work that our students are doing for clients with special needs in the local low income community.

The success that our students have realized for our clients is definitely thrilling. Yet, we are equally excited about the skills and training that our students are developing. As a result of their experience in CRC, our students are more competitive for public interest, public service and private sector jobs. This is evident by the number of calls that we get from employers who are looking to hire our CRC students.

Professor Fee and I applaud the successes that our students have had thus far and look forward to more years of continued success!

CRC FACULTY FEATURED AT RECENT CONFERENCES rofessor Julie Waterstone co-organized a Special Education Law Symposium on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) with Professor Paula Pearlman ‘82 of Loyola Law School and Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine Law School. “Exploring the IDEA: In Theory and In Practice” took place in February at Pepperdine and included leading experts in the field, including Ruth Colker of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law; Robert Garda of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law; Jim Rosenfeld of Seattle University School of Law; Joseph Tullman of University of District Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law; and Mark Weber of DePaul University College of Law. Professor Waterstone spoke on a panel with Professor Yael Cannon of American University Washington College of Law and Professor Michael Gregory of Harvard Law School focusing on “A Critical Look at the IDEA’s Protection of Children with Social and Emotional Needs.” Materials from the event can be requested by emailing childrensrights@swlaw.edu.

Just recently, Professor Waterstone and Professor Jenny R. Fee were presenters at the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) Annual Conference in Miami, Florida. They spoke on School Pushout – Understanding the Impact of Disciplinary Removals on Children with Special Needs and the Promise of Positive Behavior Alternatives. More information about this organization and its annual conference, the largest national conference in the field for parent-side attorneys, is available at www.copaa.org.

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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT SUSAN TSOU ’04 Susan Tsou ’04 is a Child Welfare Law Specialist in CLC3 at Children's Law Center of Los Angeles. She recently shared: “As an alumna, I am excited that Southwestern and the Children's Law Center have launched this great year-long opportunity* for students to really delve into the world of child abuse and neglect cases. We hope that this unique opportunity allows students to get a thorough perspective of being a dependency attorney by taking ownership in their cases over a long period of time. Had it existed while I was a student here, I know that I would have greatly benefited from it!” *Referring to Southwestern's partnership with the Children's Law Center to offer an exciting new year-long externship opportunity for students.

CALLING ALL ALUMNI! Please send your clinic stories, memories and high-res photos for a possible upcoming feature in our newsletter to legalclinic@swlaw.edu.

WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING “David Bransky and Kate Lawrence – You guys are an amazing team and we cannot thank you enough for your passion and dedication in helping children with special needs get what is fair and appropriate from the school districts. I am beyond ecstatic for the services my son will be receiving thanks to you. Now the whole class will benefit from the training the staff will be getting which is even more rewarding! Unfortunately, most of the parents of the children in my son’s classroom are afraid or don’t know how to help their children. I am determined to make a difference so our children will be treated equally with their peers. You all inspire me with your selfless acts of kindness and for assisting families like mine.”

REFLECTIONS ON THE CLINIC EXPERIENCE HEATHER WALTERS ‘12 “The most memorable and rewarding aspect of law school was my participation in the Children’s Rights Clinic in Fall 2010. Not only did the clinic open my eyes to an area of law for which I have great passion, but it also allowed me to sharpen my legal skills while doing meaningful work with real-world clients. In fact, every subsequent step I’ve taken on my career path has been directly attributable to or enhanced by my clinic experience.

For example, when I clerked for the LA County Public Defender’s Office, I was able to more holistically help juvenile clients by identifying and assisting with their school-related needs. The following summer, when I clerked in the Children’s Rights Project at Public Counsel, I was able to dive right into the work. As a result, I received a fellowship award from Equal Justice America and Public Counsel’s Grunfeld/Regan Scholarship, an award given to summer clerks who show exceptional promise in public interest law. I enjoyed my work at Public Counsel so much that I still continue to volunteer my time. Two months ago, I assisted in a mediation settlement on a case that I handled at all stages – from intake through to drafting the complaint. I'm only able to do these things because of the knowledge and skills obtained from the Children’s Rights Clinic.”

“Not only did the clinic open my eyes to an area of law for which I have great passion, but it also allowed me to sharpen my legal skills while doing meaningful work with real-world clients.

In fact, every subsequent step I’ve taken on my career path has been directly attributable to or enhanced by my clinic experience.”

– Heather Walters ’12

CONTACT US Legal Clinic • W408 (Westmoreland Building, 4th Floor)

“My child has been demonstrating significant improvements with the new supports and services. He actually said, “Mom I want bottle please” yesterday when he wanted me to open a bottle of water. It was the first sentence he’s used! He doesn’t speak clearly yet, but enough to understand what he wants! He still has some behavior issues, but they have improved as well. You all have made such a huge difference in our lives and we thank you!”

Southwestern Law School 3050 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90010

Children’s Rights Clinic (213) 738-6621 childrensrights@swlaw.edu

Immigration Law Clinic (213) 738-5574 immigrationclinic@swlaw.edu

Street Law Clinic (213) 738-5737 streetlaw@swlaw.edu www.swlaw.edu/academics/clinic

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Southwestern’s Immigration Law Clinic (ILC) provides free legal representation to low-income children and adults in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) (clients under the age of 21), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U visa cases. The Clinic is staffed by law students who represent clients under the supervision of Professors Andrea Ramos and Julia Vázquez.

FALL 2011 AT A GLANCE he Fall 2011 ILC team consisted of Stefan Ali, Katrina Castillo, Richard Diaz, Yvonne Garcia, Adrine Ghazarian, Cesar Libanati, Adam Pugatch, Leslie Reyes, Vanessa Sanchez, Anna Sarukhanyan, Tracy Wong and Katie Wu, and advanced clinic students Danish Shahbaz and Gayane Zorabian. During the semester, students provided approximately 3,800 hours of free legal services to women and children on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and U visa cases.

In addition to casework, students worked in the field by leading Know-Your-Rights presentations to youth and families throughout Los Angeles, helping to educate the community and generate awareness about the Immigration Law Clinic. Among the topics covered were immigration options for crime victims, notario fraud, the California DREAM Act and higher education for immigrant students. Students made presentations at Communities for a Better Environment, All Peoples Community Center, Amanecer Community Counseling Services and Manchester Elementary School.

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Diaz and Tracy Wong worked on a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status application for a young boy who was abandoned when he was a newborn baby.

His parents were not willing to care for him because he required extensive medical care and had other special needs. Tracy and Richard met with his guardian and filed the child’s Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Adjustment Application within three weeks of the first client meeting.

The students won lawful permanent residency status within two months of the filing of the application. Southwestern’s Children’s Rights Clinic is now working with the child to assess his special education needs.

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Stefan Ali and Adrine Ghazarian represented a young woman who was the victim of child abuse by her father. Stefan and Adrine worked carefully to interview the young woman who was often brought to tears when recounting the abuse she endured. At times, the client’s injuries were so severe that she was forced to stay home from school by her abusive father in order to avoid investigation by authorities. Adrine was able to secure the law enforcement certification in one week, while Stefan utilized careful interviewing skills to help the client speak about her complex and painful story of years of abuse. His careful and detailed interviews aided him in writing a compelling declaration.

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Katie Wu and Vanessa Sanchez completed a U visa packet for a 14-year-old victim of sexual abuse. The students demonstrated strong interviewing skills as they worked with the client’s mother to gather the information needed to draft a compelling declaration and U visa application for the child, her mother and two brothers. They worked with therapists and social workers; exemplified excellent problem solving skills in the face of obstacles; and demonstrated team work, patience and professionalism throughout their representation.

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Cesar Libanati and Adam Pugatch prepared a U visa application for a young single mother who was raped at knife point.

Over the course of the semester, Adam diligently advocated in order to secure the law enforcement certification. Cesar demonstrated careful and empathetic interviewing skills during the challenging and emotional interviews, and his hard work resulted in a compelling declaration that simultaneously recounted the horrible details of the crime while highlighting their client’s resilience and cooperation with law enforcement.

Anna Sarukhanyan and Leslie Reyes worked on a U visa case for a victim of domestic violence who endured years of emotional and physical abuse that began when she was 16. The case focused on the last attack where the client was savagely beaten by her then-boyfriend. Among other injuries, the client suffered a broken nose, black eye, torn earlobe and concussion.

The students conducted extensive client interviews to help unravel the complicated history of abuse and craft a compelling client declaration. They worked under a tight deadline to file a strong U visa application by the end of the Fall semester.

Katrina Castillo and Yvonne Garcia worked with a high school student who was sexually abused by her stepfather for many years. The students obtained law enforcement certification and supporting letters and declarations from the therapists and social worker. They conducted emotionally charged interviews with the client and her mother to prepare detailed declarations.

Through the interview process, the students were faced with unexpected challenges and used excellent judgment and interviewing techniques to work through the issues. The student team filed a compelling U visa application for the client and her mother.

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Southwestern’s Street Law Clinic (SLC) students teach critical legal life skills to high school students in our Los Angeles community under the supervision of Professor Laura Cohen. Law students step into the roles of teacher, mentor, and advocate to empower atrisk youth to make better choices, overcome adversity, and build stronger futures. The participatory lessons inform the teenagers about their rights and the laws that apply to them, and provide legal information and resources they need to successfully transition to independent living and adulthood.

STREET LAW CLINIC

FALL 2011 AT A GLANCE

uring the Fall 2011 semester, ten law students participated in the Street Law Clinic. These law students created engaging lesson plans that helped their teenage students “understand their rights,” focusing resources and information on housing, education, employment and consumer issues. The students also encouraged these youth throughout Los Angeles to grow both emotionally and academically:

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Barbara Reguengo and Joy Kraft taught Street Law to a group of young women at Aviva High School in Los Angeles.

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Mark Johnson and Garrett Behrens taught Street Law at HathawaySycamores in Alta Dena.

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Max Gavron and Remy Krumpak taught Street Law at the Vista School at Vista Del Mar in West Los Angeles.

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Danish Shahbaz and Olga Matemotja taught Street Law to adults at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles.

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Marcia Rittikaidachar and Arianne Espinueva taught Street Law to youth in Project Connect at Amanecer Community Counseling Services in Los Angeles.

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contained information to connect these teens to people, programs and resources in the community, in order to help them when they leave Aviva. One Aviva student shared, “This is the most organized I’ve ever been. This is all so helpful, and now I have a place to keep everything.”

“Joy and Barbara worked very well together, were always prepared, and developed a rapport with the girls,” Mr. Gerhardt shared. “They knew every student’s name within minutes and answered questions with professionalism. We enjoyed having them teach Street Law this semester.”

Southwestern students receive academic credit for the Street Law course, which has been taught by Professor Laura Cohen since 2005.

Aviva is one of the high schools where the law students teach the Street Law class each year, specifically working with court-involved youth throughout Los Angeles. Professor Cohen specialized in juvenile dependency law and wanted to create a program that serves the teen population that she represented while exposing law students to this unique area of the law. She said “The law students benefit from this class as well as the high school students, as they each learn the rights, laws and programs available to transition-age youth in Los Angeles.” The law students meet with her each week to help them learn the law, as well as how to teach it and prepare their lessons. During the classroom component, they meet with several guest speakers who discuss current laws that relate to youth, and also visit courtrooms and talk with juvenile law attorneys and judges. This enables the law students to share legal information and know where to research answers to the high school students’ questions.

“Joy and Barbara worked very well together, were always prepared, and developed a rapport with the girls. They knew every student’s name within minutes and answered questions with professionalism.”

– Mr. Gerhardt, Teacher at Aviva High School

REFLECTIONS ON VOLUNTEERING

SPRING 2011 AT A GLANCE

“Having the opportunity to teach at the Probation Camp last fall was truly incredible. I was able to make use of my Street Law teaching experience again, which not only allowed me to cater the lessons to the specific camp population, but also to successfully educate the students with legal knowledge and skills they will be able to use to improve their lives.”

- Raha Johartchi ‘12

Many of the law students who have taken the Street Law course have gone on to practice in areas that relate to the lessons they taught each week at Aviva – as public defenders and attorneys practicing family, juvenile, disability, education or employment law. Many also continue to volunteer as mentors, working with youth in other capacities. One former law student who taught at Aviva is now working in Washington, D.C. on national juvenile justice matters and others are working in Children’s Court here in Los Angeles.

“It is our hope that after the class, the Aviva students will make better choices for themselves based on an understanding of the laws that relate to them, build stronger futures and are successful at reaching their life goals,” Professor Cohen shared.

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TEEN JUSTICE: L.A. STUDENTS SIT AS JURORS TO HEAR REAL CRIMINAL CASES

BY JUDGE STEVEN KLEIFIELD Judge for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County Reprinted with permission from CityWatch. All rights reserved. © 2012.

LOS ANGELES TEEN COURT – It may not be widely known that the Los Angeles Superior Court engages in community outreach, even in this era of economic problems and budget cuts. One of the most important and successful outreach programs is Teen Court.

Teen Court takes place in high schools throughout Los Angeles County. While one may assume that this is a “mock trial” type of program, designed to allow students to experience what it is like to be an attorney, Teen Court is different. Students sit as jurors to hear real criminal cases. The trials are presided over by Superior Court judges.

Here’s how it works. A probation officer selects cases involving minors who are first-time offenders, charged with misdemeanors. The most typical offenses are battery, vandalism, petty theft, and possession of drugs or weapons. The minor and the parent or guardian sign an agreement to have the case heard in Teen Court.

The cases are heard in a makeshift courtroom at the school. A jury of twelve students is selected to hear the case. The minor is not from the same school as the jurors. After the minor is sworn, a student who volunteers to be the clerk reads a synopsis of the case put together by the probation officer. The minor has an opportunity to admit or deny the charges, and offer an explanation. No attorneys are involved.

The jurors can then ask questions of the minor and the parent/guardian. There are two main purposes to the questioning. The first is to assist the jurors in determining guilt or innocence. The second is to assist the jurors in deciding what probation conditions should be imposed on the minor to help him put his life on a different path.

The jurors can question the minor about all the circumstances of the incident – who he was with, why he did it, etc. They can examine the minor’s grades, and ask him what’s going on in his life. They can see if he has any role models, or has younger siblings who might be influenced by what he is doing. They can ask the parent/guardian if she had any idea the minor was engaged in the activity involved, and what she did in response to learning about the charges. The relationship between the parent/guardian and the minor is explored, as well as the role of others who are influencing the minor.

After about twenty minutes of questioning, often with the assistance of a volunteer court interpreter, the minor and parent/guardian are excused, the jury is instructed on the law, and a student-bailiff escorts the jurors to the deliberation room. At Fairfax High School, where another judge and I preside, we are fortunate to have students from Southwestern Law School volunteer to assist the jurors in their deliberations. The law students are not to influence the decision – but they can answer questions and help the jurors stay directed.

Once the jurors have reached a verdict the minor and parent/ guardian are summoned and the foreperson reads the verdict.

I have had a few not guilty verdicts, and I have honored the jury’s decision. For the guilty verdicts, the jurors make recommendations for conditions of probation. These recommendations can include community service (including serving on a Teen Court), individual or family counseling, creating a plan for graduating school, curfews, letters of apology to the victim or parent/guardian, and restitution to the victim.

The probation officer comments as well. Ultimately, the sentence imposed is up to the judge. I try to hew as closely as I can to what the jury recommends, but I do add or change the sentence, as proper.

The conditions of probation are imposed, and the minor is told that if she complies with all the terms and conditions, the charges will be dismissed, and she will never have to go to court or have a record.

The minor must agree to abide by these terms and conditions, and is excused.

One of the most rewarding experiences is when the jury recommends that community service includes participating in Teen Court. I have had several minors return to Fairfax, the site of their trial.

They are often the best jurors, because they understand what motivates a young person to commit a crime, and they ask the most insightful questions.

The benefits of Teen Court are enormous. The minor gets to stay out of court and keep the matter off his record. He hears what other teens think about what he’s doing with his life, and how he can make his life better. The parent/guardian learns something about the minor that she didn’t know before, and develops a better understanding of what’s happening with him. The court, and indeed the whole justice system, benefits by keeping these cases out of court and preventing future criminal activity.

The students benefit in many ways as well. Between and after the trials we talk about the legal system. They learn about and discuss the concepts of crime and punishment. They come to understand the rudiments of criminal law, how every crime has elements. They learn valuable life lessons -- that words alone do not justify a battery -- and other bits of wisdom that experience can bring.

But in my opinion the greatest benefit is that the students leave feeling that they have helped someone turn his life around and become a better person. They take it seriously because they know their work is truly important.

ILC CLINIC CO-SPONSORS DISCUSSION ON SECURE COMMUNITIES PROGRAM rofessors Andrea Ramos and Julia Vázquez, along with the Immigration Law Student Association, teamed up with John Manley ‘94, Ally Bolour ‘96 and the American Immigration Council to organize a panel on the Secure Communities Program. This panel, bringing together diverse viewpoints about Secure Communities and its impact on Los Angeles, consisted of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca; Chris Newman, Legal Program Director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network; Nora Preciado, Staff Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center; and Timothy S. Robbins, Sheriff Baca Los Angeles Field Office Director at the Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mary Giovagnoli, Director of the Immigration Policy Center at the American Immigration Council, moderated the discussion.

The event generated a thoughtful and lively discussion from panelists and audience members, and provided a wonderful opportunity for law students to learn about the complexities of immigration law and policy – and hear first-hand from key players in the debate. The event was well-attended by law students, community members, Robbins, Newman and Preciado immigration attorneys and advocates.

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