USM 0449 ME LawMag - University of Maine School of Law ...

AROUND CAMPUS CHRISTOPHER NORTHROP
(juvenile justice clinic, continued from page 14)
In order to better serve children and adolescents as well as to
train lawyers to better handle cases involving children and
adolescents, Maine Law’s Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic launched
a new juvenile justice clinic this fall. The aim of the program is
to provide quality representation to these clients, but also to
expose law students to the unique issues involved in
representing children or adolescents. Many of the clients in the
juvenile justice clinic also face family, education or mental
health issues.
The new clinic was launched with the help of a grant from the
Sam L. Cohen Foundation, a Maine foundation that supports
programs and services for children. The grant not only provides
much needed support for the new clinic but also presents the
Law School with a significant opportunity to identify new
funding partners for the clinic’s work. Alumni of the Law School
also supported the launch of this clinic; in fact, the class of
1981 decided to donate half of their class gift to the juvenile
justice clinic.
Spearheading the new clinic is Christopher Northrop, who is
widely known on a state and national level for his work in
juvenile justice. Northrop joined Maine Law as a visiting clinical
professor in the summer.
opportunity to work on a broad spectrum of juvenile cases,
ranging from drug treatment court cases, Federal gun charges,
robbery and burglary cases, to cases involving the failure to
complete court-ordered community service.
By working on such cases, Maine Law students come to
understand a variety of issues such as education and special
education issues, mental health treatment services, family
services and adolescent substance abuse and treatment issues,
Northrop says.
In addition to his consulting work for the National Juvenile
Defender Center in Washington, Northrop also helped to found
two juvenile justice organizations: Kids Legal Aid of Maine as
well as the New England Juvenile Defender Center. Northrop
says that such work is particularly rewarding because he
believes that by working with children and young adults, there
is a greater chance to intervene on the individual’s behalf and to
create change.
“By the time we see a lot of these folks in Domestic Violence
Court in Protection from Abuse cases, they have been involved
in a pattern of behavior for many years, but in the juvenile
systems, you are usually seeing the problem as it is just
“By the time we see a lot of these folks in Domestic Violence Court in Protection from
Abuse cases, they have been involved in a pattern of behavior for many years,
but in the juvenile systems, you are usually seeing the problem as it is just budding.”
Northrop’s interest in juvenile justice issues grew out of his
experiences as a counselor in a North Carolina boys’ home, a
role which involved accompanying kids to court. It was during
those years that Northrop says he witnessed both the “good”
and the “bad” in juvenile justice and made the decision to not
only become a lawyer, but to make juvenile justice the focus of
his career.
Now a consultant for the National Juvenile Defender Center in
Washington, D.C., Northrop assists in the assessment of
juvenile defender systems around the country. In these
assessments, Northrop surveys juvenile defenders around the
country, finding that the need for continuing education in this
area of the law ubiquitous. So far, Northrop helped conduct
assessments on the juvenile justice systems in five states.
Northrop says it is a natural progression in his career to focus his
attention on helping to prepare future lawyers in juvenile justice.
The new Maine Law clinic provides third-year students the
— christopher northrop, visiting clinical professor
budding,” Northrop explains. “If you are hooked up with the
right services, if you are making sure that the family gets
appropriate treatment, and if you can engage a particular youth
at this point, you stand a much better chance for success.”
Not only does Northrop believe in the social importance of his
work in juvenile justice issues, but he enjoys working one-onone
with his clients.
“You hear the most amazing personal histories,” Northrop says.
“Most of the kids I work with are funny, they are bright, and they
have a deep perspective on the world around them.”
Northrop has also contributed to national reports dealing with
juvenile justice issues for publications by the American Bar
Association, the New England Juvenile Defender Center as well
as for the U.S. Department of Justice. A graduate of the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northrop received
his undergraduate degree at Grinnell College.
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