Course Description
This course is a seminar on law and the abolition of modern day carceral systems. The course aims to facilitate an exploration of 1) the brutality and racist nature of the carceral system, 2) the size and scope of the prison industrial complex from the family regulation system to community supervision, 3) the theory and practice of abolition of that system, 4) lawyering skills related to legislative/administrative advocacy (including legislative drafting), direct legal service work, and litigation in support of abolition, 5) how to survive as an abolitionist in a conservative profession, 6) alternatives to the prison industrial complex, and 7) working with non-attorneys, system impacted people, and others toward abolition.
This course includes a group final presentation.
Instructor
Jared Trujillo
Professor Jared Trujillo is an Associate Professor of Law. He teaches Constitutional Law, as well as legal writing, and courses focused on the criminal and juvenile legal systems. Jared most recently served as Senior Policy Counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, where he helped draft and amend several bills that have become law, lobbied elected officials, testified for and against legislative efforts, and worked with directly impacted populations to educate the public and elected officials on criminal and juvenile legal system issues. Before working at the NYCLU, Jared served as President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (UAW Local 2325), and he was a juvenile defense and criminal defense attorney at the Legal Aid Society NYC. He taught as an adjunct professor at Hofstra University School of Law from 2016 through 2021.