The Progressive: UC law expert weighs in on participatory defense model

Participatory defense, a community organizing model in which people facing charges, and their loved ones, learn how to participate in their own defense, is the focus of a new story by The Progressive.  In detailing this emerging grassroots model, the magazine turned to Janet Moore, a University of Cincinnati law professor and former public defense attorney, who has co-written about the model, which began in San Jose, California, in 2007 and has since spread across the U.S.

“The only way to get sustainable, positive change is to create a social movement,” Moore explained. “You’re being transformed from someone who’s isolated, scared, and confused to [someone] wrapped up in a powerful emotional support that comes with wisdom and the power to make change happen.”

Because participatory defense enables individuals to draw on the collective wisdom of others who’ve had experience with the court system, it allows individual defendants to demand better representation, says Moore. That results in better expectations for and quality of their legal representation. Moore calls it “a grassroots constitutionalism.”

Read the full story here.

Featured image at top: UC College of Law building in spring. Dottie Stover/UC Creative + Brand