Students who participate in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Pre-Law Program in the Department of Criminal Justice have access to pre-law advising, an academic minor, and activities designed to build pre-professional competencies, including legal research and critical thinking.

UAB’s Pre-Law Program partnered with Redemption Earned, Inc. for the new Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Pre-Law Student Initiative. Clockwise from top left: Brandon Blankenship, Paul Littlejohn, Martha Earwood, Darrius Culpepper, Shae Thomas, Sue Bell Cobb.According to Brandon Blankenship, J.D., assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and director of the Pre-Law Program, these skills—along with many others—consistently prove to be valuable when practicing law or working in careers in law. In addition to the core competencies, Blankenship also emphasizes community engagement and restorative leadership with his pre-law students.

“[We’re] proactively building community,” said Blankenship.

Engaging Students

For Blankenship, community-building often begins with engaging middle and high school students in hands-on learning experiences.

One of the longest-standing experiences available through the Pre-Law Program is Journey to Attorney, an innovative summer camp for rising high school juniors and seniors that includes mock mediation and mock trials. During the camp, UAB pre-law students support camp participants as they retry a historic case (the last camp focused on the Scottsboro Nine case). Attendees dig into the facts of the case and aim to achieve a just result—an effort that often requires 12-hour days and intensive preparation.

As the students retry the case, they also examine ways in which they can restore justice in the community. The experience builds knowledge, relationships, and empathy, and, often, inspires participants to become life-long learners. Although the camp will not take place in Summer 2022, it will reemerge in Summer 2023.

Along with engaging high school students in hands-on summer learning experiences, Blankenship and his team also find opportunities to reach students in classrooms. Megan Edwards, an AmeriCorps VISTA with the program, recently helped coordinate and facilitate a digital learning experience for middle school students in Shelby County for Law Day 2022.

The American Bar Association (ABA) annually sponsors Law Day on May 1. According to the ABA, the program aims to celebrate the role of law in our society and to cultivate a deeper understanding of the legal profession. To support the mission of Law Day 2022, Edwards recruited judges and district attorneys from across the state of Alabama to record engaging video presentations for Shelby County students based on the following theme: “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change.” Edwards also made the videos available to the Alabama State Bar, so the organization could share the content with schools outside of Shelby County.

According to Blankenship, Judge Bill Bostick—the presiding judge on the Circuit 18 court in Shelby County—delivered one of the most compelling video presentations. Bostick shared insights with the students and also gave them a virtual tour of his courtroom. For Blankenship, this kind of exposure to the legal profession is a driving force behind the community engagement work of the pre-law program. And, based on the feedback he received from one of the teachers who shared the video presentation with her class, it’s working.

"My 7th- and 8th-grade students thoroughly enjoyed the Law Day 2022 experience. The program was well produced and offered such a variety of speakers,” said Julie P. Kennedy, social studies teacher at Oak Mountain Middle School. “It was intriguing to hear from our county and state judges, attorneys, and state representative and the impact they have on the lives of our community. Hopefully, their words inspired my students to give back to their communities when they are older."

JEDI

Exposure can take other forms too. In the case of the newly-established Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Pre-Law Student Initiative, UAB students get the opportunity to develop competencies that will help them in law school, while also supporting community organizations and attorneys that have limited resources and staff. Blankenship developed the service-learning program in partnership with Brandon Wolfe, former Assistant Vice President for Campus and Community Engagement in UAB’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The program is now managed by an undergraduate student, Parth Sharma, who is majoring in criminal justice and mathematics and serving a Fellowship in Restorative Justice and Leadership. The fellowship was made possible by the LifeCrafter Foundation, a strategic partner of the Pre-Law program that provides substantial support in the form of scholarships and AmeriCorps VISTAs.

This past academic year, the JEDI program created an opportunity for Eshandae (“Shae”) Thomas—a pre-law student who is majoring in criminal justice and minoring in legal affairs—to work alongside Redemption Earned, Inc., a nonprofit organization that identifies, assists, and represents incarcerated individuals worthy of parole or work release. Sue Bell Cobb, former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, serves as the executive director of Redemption Earned, Inc. and sought out meaningful opportunities for Thomas to support the organization’s work.

“All of us were so excited when Professors Brandon Blankenship and Martha Earwood informed us that Redemption Earned, Inc. would be given the opportunity to work with a UAB pre-law intern,” said Cobb. “Shae Thomas was simply extraordinary and completely dedicated to our efforts to assist worthy ‘aged and infirmed’ incarcerated individuals with gaining parole. Shae helped us synthesize and manage reams of data from the Alabama Department of Corrections. She provided valuable insight as we developed processes to be able to chart a new path to fill this huge gap in the criminal justice system. Her help was invaluable.”

Thomas conducted research and developed a system to identify potential clients for Redemption Earned, Inc. Along the way, Thomas also received mentorship and guidance from Darrius Culpepper, a law fellow at Redemption Earned, Inc., and Paul Littlejohn, a subject matter expert who experienced incarceration for 35 years.

“My time with Redemption Earned has shown me how time can change people,” said Thomas. “It's something we hear all the time, but I got to experience it firsthand.”

That experience led her to present at UAB’s Service Learning and Undergraduate Research Expo. Thomas created a poster highlighting her research and work with Redemption Earned, Inc., and she went on to win first place in the Social and Behavioral Sciences for Online Poster Presentations.

Moving Forward

As Blankenship reflects on Thomas’ research and accomplishments, he acknowledges the value of students “building a body of work” and doing work that energizes them. Now, Blankenship’s vision for experiential learning has uncovered a new priority for future community engagement efforts within the program. Moving forward, Blankenship and his team plan to focus their attention on ensuring that students in Alabama are reading on grade-level by the fourth grade. At first, some may wonder how literacy fits into the community work of the Pre-Law Program—for Blankenship, the answer is clear.

“I see pre-law as cradle to grave. I really think our pre-law journey, as far as UAB’s concerned, really starts with elementary-level reading,” said Blankenship. “If our [pre-law] students can participate in helping students be on grade-level with their reading by fourth grade, then those fourth graders have an opportunity to one day practice law… if that’s what they want to do.”

And, perhaps, that is the overarching goal of the UAB Pre-Law program. Connecting students of all ages with learning experiences and community partners to ensure anyone who wishes to pursue a career in law can do so. Thankfully, the program is getting closer to achieving that goal each day.