Mommy Cops & Daddy Cops: Comparing the Criminal Legal System with the Child Welfare System through an Abolitionist Lens
In this talk, Hannah Hutton (USF Sociology '19 and USF School of Law '24) uses a socio-historical lens to analyze the parallels between the child welfare (or “family policing”) system and the criminal legal system. Attendees will be asked to reflect on their own knowledge of and/or lived experience with the child welfare system as a point of departure for recognizing systemic racism and social control. This analysis is grounded in racial capitalist and critical legal approaches, acknowledging the origins of these systems in chattel slavery and highlighting disruption of the transmission of cultural values and overall collective power in impacted communities. Finally, this presentation will look at abolition and holistic defense in practice at East Bay Family Defenders, where Hannah is part of an interdisciplinary team of lawyers and social workers zealously advocating for family integrity.
About Hannah Hutton: Hannah Hutton (she/they) graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she used her background in criminology and sociology to focus her studies on critical and intersectional approaches to law and (in)justice. As an undergraduate student, Hannah conducted original research on police occupational culture as it interacts with and perpetuates racist policing. In law school, she continued this work, writing papers on policing in schools; the role of race in coerced confessions; the Racial Justice Act and police accountability; and why police officers can and should be for police abolition. Hannah spent a year at the USF Racial Justice Clinic, where she primarily worked on wrongful convictions, claims arising under the California Racial Justice Act, and a prosecutor-initiated re-sentencing case with the SF Innocence Commission. Hannah most recently worked at the SF Department of Police Accountability, where she drafted sustained reports against officers in local cases of police misconduct.
Hannah is passionate about providing compassionate advocacy to aid in abolition, decarceration, and community wellbeing. She currently works for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children as a post-bar fellow with East Bay Family Defenders. Hannah assists with direct representation for parents who are undergoing a CPS investigation with the ultimate goal of preventing removal. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys being near bodies of water and spending time with her cat, Sylvia. She is also dedicated to opening the gates to the legal profession and is always happy to provide counseling/advice to folks who are considering law school - especially USF Law!