Children and the Law: An Interdisciplinary Approach with Cases, Materials and Comments

Katherine Hunt Federle

Nov 2012 · Oxford University Press

About this ebook

The study and practice of juvenile law is inherently interdisciplinary--a successful practitioner must understand not only the legal implications in the field, but also have a solid grounding in child psychology, child development, neuroscience, sociology, criminology, and social work. The best child-advocates in the law have a firm familiarity with and understanding of the value these other disciplines provide. Children and the Law is a unique coursebook that will revolutionize the way students learn and apply juvenile law. By incorporating the interdisciplinary topics necessary to understand the best practices in child law, author Katherine Federle has carefully selected a vast array of articles, studies, research, cases and statutes that allow students to best understand the law and also help bridge the divide between theory and practice. The book is separated into four main sections: Children and Crime, Children and Protection, Children and Restraints on Freedom, and Children and Decision-Making. Each section in Children and the Law also includes a series of questions, exercises, and problems that encourage students to critically examine legal doctrine and policy in light of available scientific and socio-scientific scholarship.

About the author

Katherine Hunt Federle is Professor of Law and Director for Interdisciplinary Law & Policy Studies and the Justice for Children Project at Ohio State University's Michael E. Moritz College of Law. Professor Federle is a past chair of the American Bar Association Family Law Section's Committee on Juvenile Law and the Needs of Children. While serving as chair, Professor Federle helped draft the ABA's Standards for the Representation of Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases. She also serves as the faculty advisor to a law student organization, Advocates for Children and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Children's Rights, the American Bar Association Litigation Section Children's Rights Working Group, the Ohio State Bar Association Juvenile Justice Committee, and the Franklin County Juvenile Justice Community Planning Initiative. Professor Federle has been especially active in the field of juvenile law. She is admitted to practice in Ohio, Washington, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, and draws on her extensive experience as a lawyer for children in her teaching and writing. Professor Federle has given Congressional briefings on law-related education and child witnesses, has spoken and presented papers at conferences across the country and around the world on issues pertaining to children's rights and criminal law, and has written numerous articles on the rights of children.