The Practice of Theories of Transformative Justice
Semester: Spring 2024
Faculty Advisor: Joel Schlosser
Field Site: Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project
Field Supervisor: Sarah Morris and Gabby Jackson
Praxis Poster:
KiraElliot_Poster_Final_S24
Further Context:
In 1995 the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 33 of Special Session 1. This act requires individuals between the ages of 15 and 17 charged with certain felonies be charged in adult court if they meet certain requirements, such as the use of a weapon during the alleged crime (ACLU). The process of charging and trying a child, under the age of 18, as an adult in adult court is called Direct File Juvenile (DFJ). However, Pennsylvania actually has no lower limit for the DFJ process; kids as young as 11 have been charged as adults, and sentenced with adult prison sentences, in the state of Pennsylvania. The DFJ process has been admittedly manipulative, cruel, and an abuse of power by the District Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia County. However, every day children are still being treated as adults in this unjust, unproductive, and unnecessarily punitive system.
The Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project (YASP) is a youth-led movement focused on ending the DFJ process, restorative justice, and using community power to transform the legal system. Their aim is to build a world where there are no kids in prison and to create new possibilities for youth around the city. My internship with YASP focused on court advocacy, DFJ data tracking, and their youth led Participatory Defense Hub. I track data on DFJ cases, importing aspects of data available on a young person’s docket (the sheet which includes their incarceration placement, court hearings, lawyer, bail information, etc). All of this information is public record and public information alongside all adult arrests. I also attend court every week and take notes on aspects of the case relevant to the decertification process. Decertification is a legal motion that advocates for the judge to move the DFJ case back to the juvenile system, where it should be. For the defense lawyer, this requires presenting a strong argument that the young person would benefit from the counseling, and education available in the juvenile justice system. I use this information I gather in court to assist with YASP’s Participatory Defense Hub at YASP Participatory defense is a community organizing model that empowers individuals and communities to actively participate in the defense of their loved ones facing criminal charges. YASP’s Hub is a grassroots response to mass incarceration, the purposeful confusion of the court system, and rooted in community based knowledge sharing. Going to court helps with participatory defense because there are many things said in the courtroom that aren’t put on the dockets as public information–this includes any conditions that a young person may have agreed to for decertification.
Being an intern at the Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project has been life changing. It has allowed me to apply my academic skills to invaluable work in Philadelphia County. For me, bringing the theoretical into practice is an important part of learning–it elevates political theory and has allowed me to be an effective, useful, and helpful member of the Youth Art and Self-empowerment Project. This has made me a better student and a stakeholder of the community. It has also shown me a path toward the work I aim to dedicate my life to. The internal politics of the District Attorney’s Office, including which court rooms DFJ cases are sent to, and which judge oversees hearing the case, can directly impact young people’s lives, for better or for worse. However, community focused abolitionist work is effective and transforms the lives of Philadelphia youth.