This UVA Speaks podcast features Crystal Shin, a Professor of Law and Director of the University of Virginia School of Law's Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. Shin explains that the clinic’s faculty and students represent their young clients in court proceedings, particularly those facing felony and misdemeanor charges. The clinic’s primary objective is to advocate for their young clients to keep them out of the system and in their homes, schools, and communities. Given the challenges and biases inherent in the criminal justice system, Shin highlights programs, such as the Restorative Justice program, that offer an alternative to traditional prosecution and incarceration.

Transcripts of the audio broadcast can be found here.

Crystal Shin is a Professor of Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Law and Director of the Holistic Youth Defense Clinic. She joined the Law School in 2017 and served as the first full-time faculty director of the Program in Law and Public Service until 2020. Before entering academia, Shin was an attorney for the JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center, where she provided legal representation to children and families in special education, school discipline, juvenile justice, and immigration.