Table of Contents - American Bar Association

In 1995 she became JLCʹs legal director and now manages the Centerʹs litigation and
appellate docket. In that capacity she has successfully litigated challenges to the state
Department of Educationʹs failure to provide pre‐trial school‐aged youth in county prisons
with basic and special education; the Department of Public Welfareʹs failure to ensure the
availability of foster care payments to eligible kinship care givers; a local detention centerʹs
failure to ensure the safety of a mentally ill resident; and a Pennsylvania statute denying
Philadelphia adjudicated youth the opportunity to return to their regular public schools
after completing residential placement. In addition, Levick has authored or co‐authored
numerous appellate and amicus briefs in state and federal appeals courts throughout the
country, including many before the US Supreme Court, and has argued before both state
and federal appellate courts in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Levick and JLC garnered media
attention recently as one of the leading organizations to file an amicus brief against the
juvenile death penalty in Roper v. Simmons, where the Supreme Court ultimately held the
juvenile death penalty unconstitutional. Levick has also co‐authored scholarly articles on
zero tolerance policies, girls in the juvenile justice system, and juvenilesʹ right to counsel at
all stages of the juvenile court process.
Nationally, Ms. Levick worked with the American Bar Associationʹs special taskforce to
develop standards for the prosecution of juveniles in the adult criminal justice system, and
serves on the boards of the National Juvenile Defender Center and Juvenile Justice Project of
Louisiana. Levick is also a member of the advisory board of Rutgers‐Camden Law Schoolʹs
Juvenile Justice Clinic. In 2006, Levick was the recipient of the Temple Law School Womenʹs
Law Caucus annual Professional Achievement Award.
Highlights from the Spring Meeting in Charleston, SC
CJS Chair Joe Hynes awards Pima County (Arizona)
Attorney Barbara LaWall with the 2010 Norm Maleng
Minister of Justice Award, during the CJS/NDAA joint
luncheon at the CJS Spring Meeting (April 10, 2010).
NDAA Executive Director Scott Burns, CJS Chair Joe
Hynes, NDAA President Chris Chiles, CJS Section
Director Jack Hanna, and ABA House of Delegates Chair
William Hubbard pose with the “Resolution of
Appreciation” award presented to the NDAA on behalf of
the Section
ABA Criminal Justice Section Annual Report 2009-2010 24