This conference is designed for juvenile defense attorneys to be stronger advocates for youth in conflict with the law.

Agenda & Conference Materials 

Friday, Jan. 31, 2025

• 8:00 - 8:30 AM Breakfast

• 8:30 - 8:45 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks

• 8:45 - 11:00 AM (2.25 hours) Taking Ideas from Other Systems to Improve Our Own: Children In Conflict With the Law In Wales, Dr. Anthony Charles, Associate Professor, Swansea University

  • Slides: Taking Ideas From Other Systems to Improve Our Own: Children In Conflict With the Law in Wales

  • Slides: Swansea Youth Justice Service - YJS and Sentencing

• 11:00 - 12:15 PM (1.25 hours; .5 ethics) Implementing New Ideas, Henry Gonzales, Executive Director, Harris County Juvenile Probation, Ellen Marrus, Professor Emerita, Director, Center for Children, Law & Policy, University of Houston Law Center, Director, Generation to Generation, Dr. Malikah Marrus, M.S.W. Program Director, University of Nevada, Reno

• 12:15 - 1:00 PM Lunch and Networking 

• 1:00 - 2:00 PM (1 hour; .5 ethics) New Immigration Policies: What Consequences For Our Youth, J. Anna Cabot, Assistant Dean of Clinical Programs, Director, UHLC Immigration Clinic, University of Houston Law Center

• 2:00 - 3:30 PM (1.5 hour), Demystifying School-Based Disability Services, For Justice-Involved Youth, Karmel Willis, Disability Rights Texas

  • Slides: Demystifying School-Based Disability Services for Justice-Involved Youth

• 3:30 - 5:00 PM (1.5 hours; .5 ethics), Recognizing Trauma and Other Mental Health, Issues and Helping Your Clients, Dr. Dashiel J. Geyen, Ed.D., M.P.H., Clinical Research & Practice Associates

  • Slides: An Overview of Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders for Children and Adolescents

Saturday, February 1, 2025

• 8:30 - 9:00 AM, Breakfast/Networking 

• 9:00 - 10:30 AM (1.5 hours) How the Welsh Improved the Justice System for Children in Conflict With the Law, Dr. Anthony Charles, Associate Professor, Swansea University

  • Slides: How the Welsh improved the justice system for children in conflict with the law 

• 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM (1.5 hours; .5 ethics) Moving Towards Change – Collaborative, Representation, Ellen Marrus, Dr. Malikah Marrus, M.S.W. Program Director, University of Nevada, Reno

  • Slides: Moving Towards Change: Holistic Collaborative Representation

• 12:00 - 12:30 PM Lunch and Networking

• 12:30 - 2:00 PM (1.5 hours; .5 ethics) Education Justice: Using Your Skills as a Defense Attorney to Advocate for your Clients at School, Sarah Bebe, Disability Rights Texas

  • Slides: Education Justice: Using Your Skills as a Defense Attorney to Advocate for your Clients at School

• 2:00 - 3:00 PM (1 hour; .5 ethics) Using Client Voices, Ellen Marrus, Professor Emerita, Director, Center for Children, Law & Policy, University of Houston Law Center, Director, Generation to Generation, Dr. Malikah Marrus, M.S.W. Program Director, University of Nevada, Reno, Rifqa Sa’Aadat, B.A., M.A. Criminal Justice, University of Colorado

  • Slides: Who Tells Your Story:Children’s Voices

• 3:00 - 4:30 PM (1.5 hours) Street Law, Rifqa Sa’Aadat, B.A., M.A. Criminal Justice, University of Colorado

• 4:30 - 5:00 PM (.5 hour) Going Forward and Wrap Up, Ellen Marrus, Professor Emerita, Director, Center for Children, Law & Policy, University of Houston Law Center, Director, Generation to GenerationTotal hours of CLE for the two days – 15 hours including 3 hours of ethics.

Additional Resources:

• Ellen Marrus, Best Interests Equals Zealous Advocacy: a Not So Radical View of Holistic Representation for Children Accused of Crime, 62 Md. L. Rev. 288 (2003)

• Patricia K. Kerig, Responding to Youth Disclosures about Trauma: Guidelines for Non-Mental Health Professionals

• Tips on Youth Trauma for Juvenile Defenders (Nov. 2017)

• The Trajectory of a Traumatized Youth: A Three System Perspective

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)

This course has been approved for 15 hours of Texas MCLE, of which 3 hours are ethics by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for certification and recertification continuing legal education requirements for attorneys and paralegals in the following specialty fields: Criminal Law (15 hours) and Juvenile Law (15 hours).

Location:

John M. O’Quinn Law Building

Danny M. Sheena Courtroom

4170 Martin Luther King Blvd.

Houston, TX. 77204

For more event information, click here.