Autism spectrum disorder prevalence is rising, and as this population enters adulthood, preliminary research has identified high rates of contact with the criminal justice system. Policy and programmatic reform are crucial given reported negative and violent outcomes for autistic individuals when encountering the criminal justice system. Given the…

Background/Context: This article examines a 2011 court case in which an Ohio state court convicted and jailed a poor, single, Black mother of two school-aged children for "stealing an education." Using a false address, the mother, Kelley Williams-Bolar, enrolled her daughters in a public school district that was more privileged and amply…

Although, at one time, many observers believed that the courts and the schools should have little to do with each other, Justin Driver argues that the public school has, in recent decades, served as the single most significant site of constitutional interpretation in the nation's history. He traces four reasons for this growing intersection…

The legal framing of national education systems has been subject to substantial change in the past decade, especially in Nordic countries. Earlier research has called for better understanding of the implications of these changes which, in turn, points to a need for conceptual development. With an emphasis on legal and education scholarly work,…

Adolescent substance use is typically addressed from the perspectives of school personnel (e.g., teachers, school counselors, social workers, and resource officers) who interact daily with students in school settings. Consequences of adolescent substance use in the schools may include suspension or expulsion and possible legal involvement.…

This article examines verbal and non-verbal communication between the interpreter and the injured party in a video-recorded main hearing of a criminal matter at a court of first instance in Finland. The language of the court was Finnish and the interpreter and injured party communicated in French, the interpreter's B language and the injured…

Chronic absenteeism and truancy have plagued the United States for more than a century. Various interventions have been utilized, yet eight million students are absent from school every day, and seven million meet the threshold for chronic absenteeism in a school year. Some communities implemented voluntary court-based truancy diversion programs…

Field trips to augment in class learning hold valuable learning opportunities and can be transformative when observing context is important to understanding complex issues such as mental health and addiction. However, student reflections papers written after participating in the field trip were reviewed over a five-year period and identified that…

Academic freedom is an oft-invoked buzzword in debates about campus speech and the American university. But how have courts treated legal disputes where faculty members have invoked academic freedom as a potential constitutional interest? And how do faculty themselves conceptualize academic freedom? The similarities and differences between these…

While sensationalist headlines and highly publicised criminal cases have led many to believe there is a link between autism and criminal behaviour, extant literature presents an unresolved debate. We sought to address this issue by examining the prevalence of criminal justice system interactions among young adults with and without autism, and by…

For a business law class at any level or format, a field trip to a court is critical to bridge the gap between theory and practice. This article encourages legal studies instructors to utilize field trips to a court as an experiential learning opportunity for business law and legal studies courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for…

In 2012, Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, who, after a month-long highly-publicized trial, was acquitted of second-degree murder. In this study, I examine the testimony of Martin's childhood friend and key witness for the prosecution, Rachel Jeantel. Although Rachel Jeantel was an ear witness to the altercation between Zimmerman and…

Depressive symptomatology, loneliness and hopelessness are dominant issues among elderly Africans. Yet, it is commonly assumed, and, perhaps, agreed that the elderly African should physically and socially remain active and continue to be the custodian of the people's traditional norms and values reflective of the traditional social transfers for…

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC) were introduced to England in 2008 following their development in the USA. Pilots launched across the country adopted a family-based strategy with the aim to improve outcomes for children that live with parents who misuse substances or alcohol. The numbers of children entering the care system has increased…

This dissertation consists of two chapters studying problems faced by youths in two contexts that could be pivotal to their future: admissions to higher education and the juvenile criminal justice system. The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has been studied extensively, and there have…