June 11: Ethical Duties and Best Practices in Working with Youth: Considerations Related to Culture, Race, and Special Circumstances

In working with juvenile clients, defenders and system partners must demonstrate sensitivity and understanding regarding each child’s unique qualities and experiences, including a youth’s sexual orientation and gender identity, immigration status, special education needs, and experiences with abuse and exploitation. 

In this session, presenters will identify implications of these circumstances for representation of a juvenile client, and will explore strategies for ensuring that juveniles receive care, treatment and guidance consistent with his or her best interest in partnership with system partners. Additionally, competent representation requires defense counsel to demonstrate racial, ethnic and cultural understanding and to identify and address bias within oneself and within the juvenile justice system. While explicit racism and other forms of racial and cultural bias persist, they have become less prominent and public over the past century. Also important, and likely more pervasive, are questions surrounding implicit bias—attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, decision-making, and behavior towards racially marginalized youth, without our even realizing it. 

This session will explore some harmful side effects of how our brains naturally perceive, categorize, and draw inferences about a youth trapped in the system. Further, this session will present select strategies for de-biasing our brains.

Title:
Ethical Duties and Best Practices in Working with Youth: Considerations Related to Culture, Race, and Special Circumstances

Part of the Series: In Defense of Juveniles: What Delinquency Attorneys Need to Know about Working with and on Behalf of Youth

Date/Time:
June 11, 2021
1:00 am to 1:00 pm PST

Register Now For This Free Continuing Legal Education Webinar

Presenters:

• Hon. Marian Gaston
• Christian Bijoux

Credit:

The University of San Diego School of Law is a State Bar of California-approved MCLE provider and this event has been approved for 2 hours of general MCLE credit. 

Register Now!