YJLC event: Racism, Children & the Criminal Justice System: What Lawyers Need to Know
We are delighted to host this YJLC event where leading experts will discuss challenging racial injustice in the courts.
Systemic and institutional racism impacts Black, Brown and Racialised children at every stage of the criminal justice system, regardless of whether they are victims, witnesses or the accused.
Lawyers need strategies to call out racism, while ensuring that they do not perpetuate those same harms. There is a need for a representational model that counters and challenges the immense power imbalance currently facing Black, Brown and racialised children.
Speakers:
Brenda Campbell KC: Garden Court Chambers, Garden Court North (Associate member).
Brenda is a leading KC in criminal law and Inquests and a youth justice expert. Based near Manchester, her practice spans England & Wales, as well as the Northern Irish and Irish Bar. She is currently acting on behalf of the mother of 14-year old Noah Donohoe, who was found dead in a storm drain in Belfast in June 2020. Brenda has acted on behalf of families in many high-profile Inquests and Inquiries including the Hillsborough Inquests, the Ballymurphy Inquests in Belfast and the ongoing Stardust Inquests in Dublin. As a junior, she acted for the mother of 15-year old Gareth Myatt who died by restraint in Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre.
Moreover, Brenda is regularly instructed to represent children and young people in the most serious of criminal allegations including murder and terrorism. She often acts in cases with gang allegations and on behalf of defendants who are particularly vulnerable due to youth, social or educational exclusion, learning disabilities and/or mental ill-health.
She acted for the defence in the Manchester murder trial R v Raji & Others (the murder of John Soyeye which led to the alleged revenge conspiracy by the ‘Manchester 10’), R v Ahmed & Riaz (16 year old Burnage Academy boys tried for terrorism offences for posts on Instagram and WhatsApp) and R v BAZ [2022] EWCA Crim 940), a 14 year old girl who stabbed and killed her mother’s boyfriend.
Garry Green KC: Doughty Street Chambers.
Garry is a criminal defence barrister at Doughty Street Chambers. He appears in high profile cases, notably in homicide trials at the Old Bailey. Garry has a strong sense of social justice and his connection to local marginalised communities remains constant. He works for an array of voluntary “grass roots” organisations and is especially passionate about the welfare of children and young people. Garry was part of the Justice working party exploring the causes of disproportionality in youth justice and sits on the Youth Justice Legal Centre Advisory Board.
Adam Elliott-Cooper: Lecturer in Social and Public Policy, Queen Mary University of London.
Adam Elliott-Cooper is lecturer in social and public policy, in the school of politics and international relations, Queen Mary University of London.
His first monograph, Black Resistance to British Policing, was published by Manchester University Press in May 2021. He is also co-author of Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State (Pluto Press, 2021).
Adam sits on the board of The Monitoring Group, an anti-racist organisation challenging state racisms and racial violence.
Register for your free ticket here.
When: 05 Feb 2024
Where: Garden Court North Chambers, 3rd Floor, Blackfriars House, Parsonage, Manchester, M3 2JA
Start time: 17:30
End time: 19:00
