Showing posts with label Student Staff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Staff. Show all posts

2/7/19

Do Juvenile Law Always Protect Children?

Hi! My name is Anna and I’m a 3L who is in my fourth semester working with the Center for Global Justice. For the last year and a half, I have been working on projects for Shared Hope International. These projects support Shared Hope on combating child sex trafficking in the United States and reforming state laws to better protect child victims.

The project I am working on now focuses on juvenile justice laws, and the ways that "abuse and neglect statutes" do (or do not!) protect children, especially children who have been sexually trafficked.


In my research of various state laws it has been surprising to learn that there are child protective statutes out there that in fact do not protect children. (As a side note, I do believe that the intent of the statute writers is to protect children, but legislators do not always anticipate some of the situations abused and neglected children are found in).


For example, some state statutes addressing abuse and neglect only provide for the definition of "abuse" being met, and therefore triggering the jurisdiction of Child Protective Services, when the abuse been perpetrated by a family member--or at least someone residing in the same home as the child. Accordingly, when the "abuse" occurs by other people, e.g., a trafficker, Child Protective Services is legally blocked or barred from providing services to child trafficking victims.


As we become more cognizant of situations taking place in the modern era, we must update our laws so that they continue to provide adequate support and protection for our youth. I am thankful to be assisting Shared Hope is this much needed work!

11/15/18

A Place to Call Home

My name is Priscilla Knerr Jaen and I am a 2L serving as a student staff member with the Center for Global Justice.

For the first month of the semester, I worked on a project for Justice Ventures International (JVI) researching land rights in West Bengal and creating a compilation of land-related laws for the Bengali lawyers to refer to as they assist human trafficking victims with housing needs.

Prior to beginning my research, I did not even know where West Bengal was in India. As I researched their law, I had the opportunity to learn more about the country itself as well as the legal terms used to describe property-related issues.

For example, a mutation in West Bengal is similar to what Americans understand to occur when title changes (mutates) from one owner to another upon sale or transfer of property. A raiyat has a right to own land to cultivate it, while a bargadar (sharecropper) has no land rights but cultivates the land for the owner. A common scheme is what Americans know as a government initiative, and I found at least one such initiative working to ensure that Bengalis have housing called Nijoshree.

Currently, West Bengal is making progress in digitizing housing records and titles to ensure that property owners are secure in their ownership rights. The government is even beginning to plan for blockchain utilization to streamline and secure registration and sharing of documents, such as deeds.

The reality is that acquiring property can be a complex and confusing process, no matter where one lives or whether a person is trying to locate an apartment or completing the purchase of a home. I was honored to be able to support the amazing lawyers in West Bengal as they pave the way for the rescued to once again, or maybe for the first time, have a place to call home.


This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

11/8/18

Abortion Laws in Asia

My name is Jazmin Mullen and I am a 2L serving as a student staff member for the Center for Global Justice. I am currently working on a project for ADF International, an alliance-building human rights organization that advocates the right of people to freely exercise their faith.

Jazmin Mullin

My group has had the pleasure to research various abortion laws and key cases in over 30 Asian countries. We’re compiling our research on a Google spreadsheet with the goal of drafting a legal memo of our findings. Some of the sources of our research are Google Scholar, law review articles, human rights reports, and United Nations documents and reports.

The purpose of the memo is to target countries that are likely to alter their abortion laws consistent with the mission of ADF International. In our findings so far, we have found that most Asian countries permit abortion under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) to save a woman’s life, (2) to preserve a woman’s physical health, or (3) to preserve a woman’s mental health. Further, in many countries, a woman is more likely to be permitted to get an abortion up to 20 weeks of gestation. Still there are some countries, like North Korea and Jordan, that do not permit abortions at all.

In drafting our legal memo, we plan to identify the countries that might alter their abortion laws to better protect life. This categorization will help ADF better target the countries they may be able to work with in changing their laws.

Since we are the first group in the Center for Global Justice to do a project for ADF International (Asia), our findings will be extremely beneficial for ADF and hopefully give them guidance as to what steps to take from here.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

10/15/18

CGJ Student Staff Projects Fall 2018

To provide Regent Law students with practical experience in the legal protection of human rights, students volunteer with the Center each semester for a minimum of 5 hours/week.



This semester, the Center for Global Justice Student Staff will be assisting nine different human rights organizations with nine projects. Here is a brief summary of our work this semester:

  1. Shared Hope
    Shared Hope International’s Protected Innocence Challenge provides graded report cards with analysis and recommendations for each state and D.C. based on it's compliance with federal legislation concerning child sex trafficking victims. We have the opportunity to review component 5.6 for each state and D.C. concerning whether a ‘caregiver’ barrier restricts child welfare from providing services to these victims. ‘Caregiver’ barrier is a term that was coined by Shared Hope to describe when child services is not legally permitted to provide services to child sex trafficking victims because jurisdiction of child services is statutorily limited to situations where abuse/neglect comes directly from a ‘caregiver.'

  2. IJM Uganda
    We are researching the legal and psychological aspects of different issues stemming from gender-based violence (GBV). Our goal is to identify (1) whether there is an intersection between sexual violence against children and intimate partner violence (does experiencing violence as a child lead to perpetrating or experiencing violence as an adult?); (2) best practices for suspect identification and child testimony in court; (3) how geographic location may impact the issue of GBV crimes; as well as (4) how the Ugandan Domestic Violence Act is being operated today.

  3. IJM
    We are researching the status of enforced disappearances both under domestic law and treaties in a certain nation (which must remain confidential). Enforced disappearances, or ED, occur when there is an arrest/abduction by the State where the State conceals the fate/whereabouts of the missing person, thereby putting them outside the protection of the law. We hope to use precedent from other countries in order to find potential grounds for an independent, criminal cause of action for enforced disappearances against certain governments.

  4. The Market Project
    We are researching the laws of India and Myanmar regarding business registration, human resources, employee protections, privacy issues, etc.

  5. Justice Ventures International
    We are drafting a legal memo regarding securing property rights in the Indian state of West Bengal. The memo will be used to create a legal toolkit to assist attorneys that provide legal support to human trafficking victims

  6. ADF International
    ADF Asia:
    This semester our team is working to draft a legal memo regarding the abortion laws in various Asian countries. Our goal is to identify countries with abortion laws that may be favorable for ADF to target in their efforts to limit abortion worldwide.
    ADF Europe: For the last few semesters the Center has worked closely with ADF to monitor cases before the European Court of Human Rights. Our goal is to identify cases that ADF may have an interest in intervening on.

  1. Christian Legal Fellowship
    We are drafting a legal memo on relevant international law treaties that pertain to the sanctity of life, particularly the legalization of euthanasia for patients who are neither dying nor near end of life nor terminally ill. This memo will assist CLF in preparation of ongoing litigation surrounding the expansion of euthanasia in Canada.

  2. Advocates International Bulgaria
    We are drafting a legal memo regarding lobbying in Europe. The memo will be used to create model legislation on lobbying to help stop corruption and promote the rule of law in Eastern Europe.

  3. Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Uganda
    We are working with the Uganda DPP to combat human trafficking. Currently, Uganda is a “tier 2” nation under the U.S. Dept. of State’s Annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Uganda desires to become a “tier 1” nation, which is the highest ranking given. We are reviewing the Ugandan report and making recommendation on how Uganda can better combat human trafficking. 

4/25/18

Justice Delay in India

Hello, Everyone!

My name is Maria Cabrera, and this is my last semester with the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law (CGJ). I’m a second-year Master in Law student at Regent University (RU) School of Law. 

With the spring semester barreling to a finish, we finished our legal memo addressing the topic of “judicial delay in India” for Justice Ventures International (JVI). JVI is one of several nonprofits for which the CGJ performs legal work involving human rights.

On January 14, 2018, four retired judges drafted an open letter to Chief Justice Dipak Misra in support of four apex court judges stating how the over-allotment of cases and crisis should settle “within the judiciary.”

The senior Judges of India’s Supreme Court demonstrated their concern because the leading court’s administration randomly assigned cases to benches headed by junior judges. These efforts encourage harmful effects on the administration of justice and the rule of law. Instead, straightforward regulations that are right and fair should govern the distribution of cases among the benches, the open letter declared.

The senior justices expressed their concern of restoring confidence in the judicial system and Supreme Court from India’s citizens. The senior justices went on to comment on why it’s important that the five most senior Judges of the Court settle cases. The people of India need the assurance that the Supreme Court operates in a “transparent” manner with the Chief Justice using power correctly to reach verdicts.

Justice Chelameswar said, “We have tried to convince Chief Justice that certain things are not in order and remedial measures are needed… Democracy cannot survive in this or in any country if these remedial measures are not put in place.”


The Supreme Court of India retrieved from Daily Mail.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

4/17/18

CGJ Student Staff Update from Graduating 3L Shannon Fields

This semester I had the privilege of writing a memo for the International Justice Mission.



In August 2017, the police began murdering and raping civilians in a certain nation after a presidential election. Hundreds of citizens were harmed during the violence without any charges ever being brought.

One of the reasons why no one has been charged is because the victims have not been able to identify the individual officers. However, the victims know for certain that the perpetrators were police officers. To remedy this issue, IJM is looking into the legal doctrine of “command responsibility.”

This doctrine holds those in authority, like police commanders, responsible for the control over and actions of their subordinates. Thus, the doctrine goes after the superiors rather than the subordinates, making the issue of individual identification irrelevant. If each element of the doctrine can be met, then a case could move forward with criminal charges against the police commanders for refusing to control their police force.

This has by far been the most difficult project I have had throughout my time at the Center, but it has also been the most rewarding. I am truly honored to have been a part of such an amazing organization for the past two and a half years.

My law school experience would certainly not have been the same without the Center for Global Justice.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

2/14/18

Legal Projects with International Justice Mission and Alliance Defending Freedom

As a first semester member of the CGJ Student Staff, I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to get my bearings and really delve into the projects I’ve been assigned.

Student Staff Member Corrie Lee

I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work on two impactful projects with two different organizations this semester: International Justice Mission (IJM) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). My first couple of weeks were heavily focused on the ADF project. I am monitoring cases going before the European Court of Human Rights and sending weekly reports to Dean Walton and the ADF team, including cases that ADF might have an interest in intervening on.

As you can probably imagine, the cases going before the Court are atrocious crimes against humanity. Many cases include loss of life, property, religious freedom, or expression -- freedoms we enjoy so lavishly here in the United States. Reading over these cases has given me a new appreciation for the work the Center and ADF do, as well as, the blessings I receive as a United States citizen.

Now that I’ve got my feet firmly planted in the ADF project, I’ve shifted a significant portion of my time to the IJM project. My team is working on drafting a research memo regarding gender-based violence in Uganda. We’ve split the work into separate pieces so it’s more manageable, and I am focusing on the laws, regulations, and procedures that are in place to hold perpetrators of gender-based violence accountable.


This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

2/8/18

Partner Organization: The Market Project

Student Staff Member Aja Mallory
This semester I am researching employment law and communication law for the Market Project.

The Market Project establishes businesses that provide sustainable and healthy places of employment for men and women who have experienced multifaceted traumas.

I am specifically focusing on the employment and communication laws of Uganda.

The Market Project operates a yogurt producing operation that employs around 40 men and women.

The business is moving to increase its productivity, grow its workforce, and expand its market reach in the towns that have no locally produced yogurt.


This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

2/6/18

Decriminalization Laws for Minors

My name is Amanda Lopez and I am a 1L serving as a student staff member for the Center for Global Justice. I have the privilege of being assigned to a Shared Hope project considering whether Alabama, Utah, and Missouri’s decriminalization (for minors) laws could raise due process issues by allowing minors to be arrested for prostitution even though they cannot be prosecuted for prostitution.

Having more than six years of work experience in law enforcement, I can easily see both sides of this issue. I have always had a heart for trafficking victims, but on the law enforcement side of things, I can understand the need to “detain” these victims in some way in order to provide them with necessary services and shelter.

Though I am early into my research on this subject, I am astounded at the difference between federal and state laws. The federal government views such minors as victims who are eligible for specialized services, while many states treat these minors as offenders. Even in those states with safe harbor statutes, there may be a disconnect between the statute and law enforcement implementation. I am excited to do more research on this issue to see if, or how, the courts have handled this subject.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

12/13/17

The Unique Needs of Juvenile Sex Trafficking Victims

My name is Courtney Knox and I am a 2L serving as a law clerk for the Center for Global Justice.

This semester I have had the privilege to work on a project for Shared Hope researching alternative processes to the traditional juvenile justice procedures, like dependency and delinquency, that juvenile trafficking victims may be able to go through.

Before I started this project, it never occurred to me that when these juveniles are brought through the system, many times after being brought into custody by a law enforcement officer, their status as a trafficking victim is not taken into account during the proceedings. If these juveniles are not being recognized for what they are – victims – then they are not going to truly get the treatment and help they really need.

It gives me hope when states have recognized the need to care for trafficking victims differently and treat their specific needs. However, only certain states actually offer specialized services specifically for trafficking victims.

It would be a major step, and extremely beneficial, for each state to offer specialized services for victims because of the unique trauma that trafficking victims have faced.

The more states that recognize the unique needs that juvenile sex trafficking victims have, the better it will be for those victims that end up going through the juvenile justice system as a consequence of their victimization.


This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

11/15/17

CGJ Student Staff Update from Shannon Fields


This blog post was written by 3L Shannon Fields.

This semester I have had the privilege to work on a project for Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM). The organization fights child sacrifice in Uganda as well as provides rehabilitation for the victims. KCM asked the Center for Global Justice to write a memorandum about why restitution should be granted to child sacrifice victims and/or their families.

Although there is a statute which permits the courts to grant restitution to such victims, it is rarely implemented. Child sacrifice crimes not only cause extreme emotional hardship for the families, but they also cause financial hardships. It is not enough to remove the perpetrator from society. Steps should be taken to attempt to make the victim or victim’s family whole once again, and restitution is one of those steps. Restitution has the potential to provide financial relief to the victim’s family, and unfortunately, it is not being utilized in regard to child sacrifice crimes. The hope is that this memorandum will motivate judges to grant restitution to the victims to pay for their medical expenses, psychological treatment, and other needs. It is a privilege to get to encourage change in Uganda, a place near and dear to my heart.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

9/29/17

Student Staff Update from Courtney Knox


I am spending this semester helping Shared Hope International, one of our partner organizations, with the Protected Innocence Challenge. This is the second time I have had the privilege to work on this project. I love that it continues to challenge me and open my eyes to the many issues that child sex trafficking victims face every day. There is much work to be done in this field and I am honored to be even a small part in the fight against the atrocity that is human trafficking.

The specific issue we are tasked with this semester is identifying each states alternative processes to dependency and delinquency laws. Many states have what are called child-in-need-of-supervision (CHINS) laws, or something similar to CHINS. Our focus is on reviewing those laws and identifying the process and procedures associated with them. Our goal is to determine the consequences of going through the CHINS (or CHINS-like) process in order for Shared Hope to determine whether it will be a good thing for child sex trafficking victims to go through rather than a delinquency or dependency proceeding.

So far most states we have reviewed do have an alternate process, whether it is explicitly CHINS or just CHINS-like. It is very encouraging to know that there may be better avenues for trafficking victims to go through rather than traditional juvenile proceedings that might not always promote the best interests or needs of a child sex trafficking victim. I love this project because if we do identify that CHINS will best serve child sex trafficking victims, Shared Hope can then advocate on behalf of them and encourage states to move sex trafficking victims through this process. That encourages me to always work diligently and enthusiastically, trusting in the Lord to know that He will continue to bless our work and use it to serve the Shared Hope team and the trafficking victims they fight for every day.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

5/3/17

Student Staff Update: Maria Cabrera

My name is Maria Cabrera, and this is my first year with the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law (CGJ). I am a first-year Masters in Law student with Regent University. My favorite part of the CGJ is learning about people and different cultures throughout the world.

Hello, Everyone.

As the spring semester ends, I must confess I feel special because I was asked to help research and study Turkey. Turkey is a land rich in history, the arts, intellectual achievements, and fortitude. I only hope that Turkey will channel her gifts to continue to build the next generation in Turkey and carry her torch as the only secular Muslim nation in the world and that light bear a moral compass to exercise good when under fire.

As a leader, President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan possesses an uncanny popularity and charisma that could make a difference for the better in Turkey and the surrounding region for freedom. His acumen as a businessman could help build a more independent Turkey, ruling with immediate reason and the rule of law as his friend and not his enemy.

It has been six months since Turkish authorities unjustly imprisoned United States Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey. Currently, Turkey is in a State of Emergency and securing a trial date may be a challenge.

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Attorney Aysun AksehirlioÄŸlu for Pastor Brunson “released a statement indicating the lack of evidence that Pastor Brunson had a membership or any other relationship with cited organization.”

The ACLJ continues to say that on a recent visit to Turkey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson presented Pastor Brunson’s case directly with President ErdoÄŸan suggesting that an indictment might be forthcoming.

More than ever before, wisdom, understanding, and compassion demonstrate the need for a comprehensive approach for the United States and Turkey regarding the freedom of one husband and father, Pastor Brunson.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

CGJ Student Staff Update: Toolkit

Greetings! My name is Brandan Goodwin and I am finishing up my 1L year at Regent University School of Law. I am from Traverse City, Michigan and came to Regent because of many opportunities afford to me by this wonderful university in both advancing my academic career and my spiritual journey. I developed a wonderful relationship with Professor Walton and joined the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law. My first project was for Justice Ventures International and was focused on conducting a Business Toolkit for Freedom Business.

These Freedom Businesses are established for victims of human trafficking to get back onto their feet and develop modern economic skills to reintegrate into society. JVI provides such a wonderful service to not only combat trafficking but to create a solution to keeping these victims out of recurring traumatic situations. This Toolkit establishes a guide for developing 501(c)(3) non-profit businesses. It gives these emerging businesses a basic guideline to what documents need to be filed to gain this tax-exempt status and also what is important to file with the state to become a legal entity. This service is monumental because these non-profits do not have huge capital resources to pay for a business attorney to conduct all of this background paperwork and we at the Center can provide a basic guide that can be double checked by a licensed attorney and help these business save money and get to helping the oppressed.

The work that the Center does on projects like this one is monumental to these organizations in the work they do to help the poor and the oppressed. I am grateful for these wonderful opportunities that the Center has afforded me to help further the Christian mission and doing meaningful work in the world. For more information on JVI See - http://www.justiceventures.org.


This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

4/26/17

CGJ Student Staff Update: Shannon Fields


This semester I had the privilege to work on a project for Shared Hope. My team and I researched statutes that could be used to prosecute facilitators of human trafficking and victim offenders/bottom girls. Shared Hope uses our research and analysis to determine whether a state’s statutes specifically target the individuals they were written to convict or if the state’s statutes are too broad. Shared Hope then gives each state legislature a grade to indicate how well their statutes are targeting their intended recipient. Then, ideally, the state legislatures will make the necessary changes to more narrowly target the individuals responsible for trafficking offenses. It is tedious work, but it is a privilege to have the opportunity to influence state trafficking statutes across the country. Nothing in law school has been more rewarding than the work I have done for the Center for Global Justice.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

4/25/17

CGJ Student Staff Update: Brandan Goodwin

Hello all and God Bless! My name is Brandan Goodwin and I am finishing up my 1L year at Regent University School of Law. I am on the student staff at the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law. The Center has allowed me a wonderful opportunity this summer to go and work with the Parliament of Mongolia and participate in a study abroad partnered with Handong International Law School.

What an amazing opportunity! I am very excited to work with the Mongolian Parliaments only Christian Parliamentary and do meaningful legal work in advancing the rights of Christians and the Rule of Law.  I will be going June 15 – August 5. During this time I will be splitting time between both the parliamentarian’s office and working with the Mongolia Rule of Law institute working on meaningful projects to further rule of law across the region.  This is an a wonderful chance do to meaningful legal work outside of the lectures or classroom and work on projects that have a real world impact for the people of another nation.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

4/5/17

What does it mean to protect life?



This blog post was written by CGJ Student Staff Member Moriah Schmidt

I am working on a project involving abortion, specifically looking at the structures Uganda has in place to protect the life of the unborn. Much of Africa has retained more of a faith-based ideology than the Western world, often choosing to keep abortion illegal because of a desire to protect life at all stages. Others do not agree with this policy and strive to change it.

One of the reasons that people argue for abortion is because of the high maternity mortality rate, alleging that providing abortion access will cut down on this death rate. However, there are some problems with this argument. First, the biggest need in developing countries in order to cut down on the maternity rate is probably better healthcare and better access to doctors and hospitals for those living in rural areas – not access to abortions. As Christians, to advocate for life and protect the unborn, we should do our best to develop these and show that we do care about the health of the mothers and the unborn, by fighting to protect them throughout the whole pregnancy.

Second, abortion destroys lives. When much of Africa has decided that they want to protect their citizens, born or unborn, that decision should be respected. Legalizing abortions carries many risks; e.g., that people will de-value their children, that sex-selective abortions will rise, and that women will receive abortions without being aware of the risks.

I love being able to work on international law projects, embracing the cultural diversity of other countries. In my human trafficking class, often my cultural perspective is shattered and built up again. Some cultural practices are harmful, but not all are; for instance, some countries primarily get married by arranged marriages and that has been effective (in some countries, it seems arranged marriages are more resilient, with fewer divorces than the United States).

Uganda has protections for human life in their Constitution, and that decision should not be attacked. Other ways of protecting mothers and the unborn should be used and encouraged, because abortion does not simply end the risk of a woman dying in childbirth – it ends a life.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.

3/23/17

CBNNews Story on Child Sacrifice in Uganda

Today the 700 Club aired an exclusive story about how hundreds of Ugandan children are kidnapped and murdered each year as part of a thriving human sacrifice business.

CBNNews interviewed Peter Sewakiryanga, Founder and Executive Director of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (a Christian NGO dedicated to protecting Ugandan children), and Judge Mike Chibita, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

In the summer of 2013, the Center for Global Justice sent Heather Pate as the first legal intern to work with Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM). Since then, our student staff has continued to support KCM through a number of legal projects, including reviewing case files, drafting letters to prosecutors, and writing a legal memo for parliament.  The Center was privileged to host Peter Sewakiryanga in the fall of 2015.

This past summer, Center for Global Justice intern Debbie Stieglitz had the opportunity to work with Judge Chibita on two child sacrifice cases. You can read about justice being done for one of those children just three days ago here >

View the CBNNews story tonight at 11pm EST on the 700 Club or view the video below.

WARNING: Some of the content in this report is disturbing and will be unsuitable for younger viewers.




3/20/17

Justice for Hope

After seven years, it finally happened! The witch doctor who brutally tortured Hope for 1.5 years has been convicted of kidnapping with the intent to murder, and he will spend the next 45 years in prison (at his age, a life sentence).



As we have written about before, the Center for Global Justice had the opportunity to help with this case last year, and it has been on our hearts and prayers ever since. For several reasons, this case has been ongoing for quite some time, and at moments it seemed like this day might not come. So, we could not be more overjoyed at the result. Thank you to everyone who prayed for justice for Hope!



“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3

3/7/17

Student Staff Update: Lorri Ann Drazan

This blog post was written by 1L Lorri Ann Drazan

This semester I have had the privilege to join the Center for Global Justice student staff as a first-year law student. Over the last few months, I have been working on a research project for Shared Hope International. Shared Hope is an organization that is dedicated to ending sex trafficking with a focus on prevention, restoration, and justice. My research has involved analyzing statutes in all 50 states to determine the possible repercussions on victim-offenders of statutes aimed at facilitators. Victim-offenders may perform similar acts like those of sex trafficking facilitators; however, victim-offenders often have no choice due to the amount of control the trafficker has over them. So far I have completely analyzed the statutes in three states and have begun analysis on six more states. Shared Hope will use our statutory analysis in implementing recommendations to state legislators to improve state laws regarding facilitators and victim-offenders.

My work on this project has specifically piqued my interest in human trafficking. In fact, I will be interning with an organization in Israel over the summer where I will have the opportunity to work on human trafficking issues. During my interview, my internship employer was impressed with the fact that I have had exposure to researching these issues as a first-year law student. I am grateful for the opportunity to work on real legal research as a law student that I can then transfer into my summer work experience. The Center for Global Justice student staff is a great way to succeed in (what I like to call) the “backpack to briefcase” transition.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.