Op-Ed: The Law Needs Social Workers Now More than Ever
Where social work and the law have combined forces, we have seen better outcomes, begging the question: why are there not more social workers in the legal system?
On September 24th of this year, Marcellus Williams was executed by the State of Missouri for murder, despite the very office that prosecuted him arguing his conviction should be vacated because of gross prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and new potentially exculpatory evidence according to an emergency application for stay of execution filed with the United States Supreme Court.
Marcellus Williams should still be alive, but the justice system failed him at every step.
He was failed when potential jurors were removed because of their race. He was failed when he could not access affective counsel. He was failed by prosecutors who represent “the people” when they mishandled evidence. He was failed at every stage of his appeal from the lower courts, to the Missouri Supreme Court, to the United States Supreme Court, despite the prosecutors arguing his sentence should be thrown out. And he was failed by the Governor, who looked past the overwhelming evidence of his innocence and immense public support, as he refused to issue a pardon. The legal system failed.
The law is fundamentally about people. It is a code which aims to separate right from wrong and punish those who violate its rules. It governs our daily lives and social interactions. And it is given its legitimacy and power from “we the people.” Our legal system, especially the criminal legal system, too often forgets this however. Criminals and alleged criminals are intentionally dehumanized by the process.
One social worker, or even several, could not have saved Marcellus Williams, but a legal system built on the principles of social work may have. Structural change in this way will not come easily or quickly, nor will it legislatively—we have tried that. The legal system needs a cultural change. It must be brought back to the reality that it is of the people, not above the people.
The core values of social work are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. These values are desperately needed in the legal system. As social workers further integrate into the legal system and make space for themselves within it, this change will naturally follow. With that a more just system will follow.
The law has often been used to oppress society’s most vulnerable populations: coverture, the legal doctrine that made women the property of their husbands and derived them of the rights of individuals; Jim Crow laws which segregated the southern United States on racial lines; and Japanese internment which forcibly removed over 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent into concentration camps are only a few examples of the ways in which the United States Government abused the full power of the law to disempower marginalized communities. Though no longer in effect, the legacies of these laws remain.
One particularly insidious legacy remains in the question of who has access to the law. Historic discrimination makes it more likely that marginalized communities struggle to access the legal system, whether to address wrongs against them or fight against unjust accusations of wrongdoing. Systemic discrimination, a lack of legal awareness, and distrust in the system among several others are barriers structurally restrict marginalized communities’ access to the law.
Social workers are uniquely poised to help tackle these challenges and many already are. Social workers have become fixtures of the nonprofit legal sector working with victims of domestic violence, asylum-seekers who need assistance navigating complex immigration laws and social integrations, and those who have suffered civil and human rights abuses. Social workers also have worked in public defender offices to coordinate care for and coordinate the reentry of those falsely imprisoned. Social workers have even worked in prosecutors’ offices to support the victims of crime and spearhead alternative to incarceration programs for mothers, nonviolent offenders, juveniles, and those struggling with substance misuse.
Understandably, a critique of my position is that social workers should be activist from outside of the broken system, arguing for its complete overhaul. And yes—that is absolutely one role for social workers, but we cannot wait for transformational change to happen before we begin helping those in need.
The challenge we face today is that there are not enough social workers in the legal field. Where social workers have become apart of the legal system we have seen enormous changes for the better, but there are several parts of the legal system, a majority even, where social workers are not yet present.
We need more social workers in the law.
To that end, if you are a social work student, consider jobs in the legal field. If you are a professor or practicum office, nurture your students who want to choose this path and advertise it as an option. And if you already work in the legal field, ask yourself: how can I incorporate the values of social work into my practice? The law, and our country, have so much to gain from that simple inquiry.
Really powerful prose and excellent example throughout. Excited to see more from this writer!
This is a powerful and necessary article . The case of Marcellus Willam’s is a great example of how deeply the justice system can fail humanity and fairness removed from the process . Your call to action is insightful , inspiring , and at this very moment necessary.