The Journal of Public Law & Policy at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota will host an interdisciplinary symposium entitled: Reassessing the Past, Present, and Future Role of Children and Their Participation and Protection in American Law, on Friday, March 31st through Sunday, April 2nd 2006. The purpose of the Symposium is to bring together a national collection of scholars, legal practitioners, health care and other professionals studying and working with children in the criminal and civil justice systems in order to assess the meaningful participation and protection of children in the law. The Symposium will strive to confront where we are as an Anglo-American legal system with regards to these issues, as well as what we hope to achieve in the near future to more effectively bring justice in cases that affect children.

We accordingly invite persons to submit abstracts of papers they would like to present at the Symposium. The revised and edited papers will subsequently be published in the Fall 2006 edition of the Journal of Public Law & Policy. Subjects discussed should be useful not only to legal scholars, but to those working in health & wellness services, education and employment services, mental health, substance abuse, law enforcement, investigations, fund-granting organizations, behavioral science, policy-making, children & family services, community organizations, and the penal system. The Symposium aspires to be intellectually engaging as well as a source of inspiration for future scholarly and practical endeavors.

The Symposium will come to pass at a fitting time given the recent high school shooting in Red Lake, Minnesota, as well as other high profile incidents involving children and the law, such as Michael Jackson’s infamous acquittal on child molestation charges. These incidents have raised social and political awareness regarding the participation and ultimate protection of children in the United States’ system of justice.

We ask that you send a 250 word abstract of your paper. The abstract should outline your topic and frame your analysis with a view to addressing an interdisciplinary audience of specialists and non-specialists. The abstract should include your name, institutional affiliation and e-mail address and be accompanied by a C.V. We welcome submissions from all disciplines.

Abstracts should be submitted to Melisa Lopez Aquino, Symposium Editor, via email or U.S. mail by Friday, September 16, 2005.

E-mail:
publiclaw@gw.hamline.edu

or

Mailing Address:
Hamline Journal of Public Law & Policy
Hamline University, School of Law
1536 Hewitt Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104

For additional information as it becomes available, visit our website at:
http://www.hamline.edu/law/journals/law_policy/index.html or call 651-523-2371.