Ep. 40: Lady Justice: an Interview with Lawyer Jacqueline Justice

EQ:  Why are issues of justice are important for the average person to understand in 2019?

Guest: Jacqueline Justice

Highlights of this episode include:

What it’s like to work inside the Social Security Administration as a decision writer and how the system can be improved for people with disabilities (cultural competency training, better vocational training, and a functional healthcare system).

How Washington’s social safety nets are better (and worse) than other states and what we do well (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, or DVR is one example).

The basics of Dependency Court, including racial disparities and disproportionalities - African American children are twice as likely to enter the system and most people who work in it are white women.

Get nerdy and read some of these reports

Or this Race, Crime, and Juvenile Justice

Or these publications from Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

Or this from Frontline

The ins and outs of the adult advocacy roles, including attorney, CASAs, and GALs (guardians ad litem).

What it’s like being a woman of color in a field (law) that is dominated by older white males, including the intersectionality of race and gender in the court.

The compounding effect of the homelessness crisis (and housing instability in general) on kids in crisis.

How the state lacks the ability to sustain comprehensive programs - we tend to focus on fixing individual pieces but not the whole situation or the whole family.

The benefit of local programs, like the Tacoma Housing Authority.

Jacqueline's Magic Wand Wishes: universal health care and good vocational training.

Maintaining a trauma-informed approach to the work of law in order to lead the profession in a compassionate way.

Guilty Favesies:

Annie: Game apps like Candy Crush Blossom Blast

Jackie: “How to Get Away with Murder” and other crime shows

Hope: the show “You”

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Jackie: the CASA program, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Hope: White Rage by Carol Anderson

Annie: Donate locally to support youth in crisis and the programs that help them such as Fostering Together