Robert G Schwartz, 1949–2024
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14732254241297815 |
| Author | Ursula Kilkelly,Ton Liefaard |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Obituary |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14732254241297815
Youth Justice
2024, Vol. 24(3) 351 –352
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/14732254241297815
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Robert G Schwartz, 1949–2024
Robert G Schwartz (Bob), who passed away at his home in Philadelphia on 8 October 2024,
was a trailblazer in the world of juvenile justice, achieved through legal advocacy and stra-
tegic collaboration. A graduate of Temple University Law School, Bob co-founded Juvenile
Law Centre in 1975 with three classmates including his life-long friend Marsha Levick,
with whom he helped to transform the legal landscape for children in conflict with the law.
In the early days, Bob represented countless individual children helping to vindicate their
rights to education, family care, health services and justice, taking advantage of a raft of new
statutes that had begun to change children’s relationship with the law in the United States.
Bob served the Juvenile Law Centre as its Executive Director from 1982 to 2015.
In the 1990s, Bob’s vision led Juvenile Law Centre to take a more strategic approach,
pursuing class action law suits and filing amicus briefs that successfully challenged chil-
dren’s treatment in the legal system. From 1996 to 2006, Bob was a member of the
MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile
Justice, Bringing Research to Practice in the Juvenile Justice System. This innovative
research programme has led to some of the most transformative litigation in the history of
US constitutional law, helping organisations like Juvenile Law Centre use developmental
science to bring about a sea change in the way children’s culpability for offending behav-
iour is understood and applied. Under Bob’s leadership, Juvenile Law Centre went on to
become one of the world’s leading – and most widely respected – centres for the legal
advocacy and protection of children, becoming a model for strategic and innovative
approaches to hold governments to account for the rights of children and youth. After
40 years of selfless service and tireless effort in the interests of children, Bob retired from
Juvenile Law Centre in 2015 after which he took up a number of visiting and honorary
positions during a fruitful and busy retirement.
The impact of his life’s work extended beyond the multiple appointments and positions
that Bob held in Pennsylvania, and his activism with the American Bar Association,
Human Rights Watch and many other organisations and colleagues influenced law and
policy across the United States. Bob was also known for collaborating with academia and
his edited volume – ‘Youth on Trial: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice’ –
with Thomas Grisso (2000) was described as a ‘major contribution to the field of juvenile
justice’. Internationally, Bob completed assignments in South Africa and China and he
travelled frequently to Europe. We both cherish his recent visits to us in Cork and Leiden
where he gave so generously of his time to students and colleagues.
1297815YJJ0010.1177/14732254241297815Youth Justice
other2024
Obituary
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