On The Record - Columbus School of Law

R E P O R T F R O M T H E F I E L DOpen air schools offer a humble yet vitaleducational start for young Haitians, whoinherit a country facing serious challenges.Professor Sandy Ogilvy, the director of Law and SocialJustice Initiatives for the Columbus School of Law,chose two well-qualified companions for his fact-findingtrip. Social work master’s candidate, Kurt Runge, spent2004–05 in Gros Marne, Haiti, where he worked as an Englishteacher, camp counselor and supervisor of a clean waterproject. Second-year law student Nadjejda Nelson spenttwo years in the Peace Corps in Mozambique, teachingEnglish and language skills to local children.and growth monitoring. The center houses a 20-bedinfant home to care for children with severe malnutritionand a maternal waiting home for at-risk women.They Want to Be LawyersThe law school in Jérémie shares space with a nursingschool. Nursing classes are held during the day, with lawschool classes beginning at 5 or 5:30 and going until 9 p.m.Electricity is generated by solar panels, with a gasolinepoweredgenerator taking over the task after dark.Students pay approximately $33 per month for their education,which can lead to licensing upon completion of thefour years of studies, preparation of a thesis and two yearsof part-time clerkship. In its 11-year history, the lawschool has graduated more than 100 students. Despite itswork, however, Jérémie has only six licensed attorneys inprivate practice.We got the impression that more students would ultimatelybecome licensed lawyers but for the significanthurdle posed by the thesis requirement. This major writtenwork requires research and writing skills for whichmany of the students have not been adequately preparedby the Haitian education system. It also demands access toresources not available at the law school and not readilyaccessible in Haiti.The need for more licensed lawyers in Haiti is evidencedby the inability of the criminal justice system toprocess persons arrested of crimes in a timely manner. OnJuly 31, 2008, for example, in a facility designed to hold 50,the jail in Jérémie held 169 prisoners, only 27 of whom hadbeen convicted; the rest were pre-trial detainees. Thedetainees had been confined in the jail for periods rangingfrom one month to three years.The Jérémie law school has responded to the crisis bytraining law students to provide assistance to prisonersunable to afford counsel, which includes prisoners. But trialsare scheduled only during two months each year andsometimes less frequently. A small number of Americanlaw schools have been involved in helping to provide skillstraining to the Haitian law students.The need for assistance of all kinds to the people ofJérémie was evident from our short visit. We plan to workwithin the Columbus School of Law and the broader universitycommunity to see what resources we can marshal toprovide much-needed help with legal education and legalservices; housing; sanitation; medical care and preventionservices; primary, secondary and professional education;economic development; and basic infrastructure improvement.Individuals who want to help may consider supporting suchorganizations as the Haitian Health Foundation, Caritas Haiti,and Fonkoze, a micro-credit bank. For more information andideas, contact Professor Sandy Ogilvy, Ogilvy@law.eduFall–Winter 2008 / C UALAWYER 25