Mar 29, 2024  
2013-2014 Law Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Law Catalog [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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LAW 3926 - Introduction to Child and Family Advocacy


This interdisciplinary course introduces law students and mental health trainees to the legal and medical systems which handle problems of child abuse, family violence, and child custody disputes related to divorce and separation. The course is team taught by experienced lawyers, judges, mediators, and mental health professionals who have an expertise in working with children, family violence problems and with families experiencing divorce and separation. The course emphasizes issues especially important in cases involving children, such as child witnesses, the role of the child’s lawyer, and special considerations to be taken in interviewing children. In addition, the course includes discussion of the benefits and challenges of using mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes for family disputes.
 
Much of the course focuses on the students’ preparation for, and actual conduct of, the direct and cross-examination of expert mental health witnesses at a simulated hearing. The students must analyze and assimilate the facts of a complex case file, including a forensic evaluation, which raises issues of parental substance abuse, domestic violence, and education-related problems.   The mock trial is conducted before actual judges. Students act as lawyers, and mental health trainees act as the expert witnesses.

Credits: 2 or 3





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