Read more about the Project in the article written by Lindsay Lucenko on the LSJ page. Learn the basics below…
Law, Societies, and Justice prides itself on the unique and experiential opportunities that the department can offer its 258 majors. One of these unique opportunities is a three-quarter-long course taught by Professor Katherine Beckett, The Juvenile Parole Project (or JPP). In this course, groups of 2-3 LSJ students are paired with volunteer attorneys to represent individuals preparing for hearings before the Clemency and Pardons Board or the Juvenile Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB, the equivalent of a parole board).
This course began in 2019, under the leadership of Professor Steve Herbert. At its start, the main focus of the Juvenile Parole Program was to respond to new legislation that allowed individuals who were sentenced as juveniles to 20 or more years of confinement to appear before the juvenile parole board for a chance to be considered for release.
The course was extremely successful, people were brought home through the hard work of students, attorneys, and their petitioners. However, due to the stringent requirements of how long an individual must have served their sentence before appearing before the board, JPP assisted the majority of the individuals in Washington who were eligible for release after two years. As a result of recent policy changes, though, more individuals were able to seek release. JPP also expanded to work with individuals seeking clemency or sentence review through other recent legislative changes.
I spoke to the instructor of this course, Professor Katherine Beckett, about the course structure and how she prepares students for such heavy and impactful work.
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