Marsha Levick is a lawyer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She is a co-founder and Chief Legal Officer of the

Juvenile Law Center Juvenile Law Center, founded in 1975, is a non-profit public interest law firm for children in the United States. History Juvenile Law Center was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1975 by four Temple University Beasley School of Law gr ...

MARSHA LEVICK, ESQ.
/ref> and recognized as a leading expert in

juvenile justice A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

.Samantha Melamed
"How Marsha Levick changed the face of juvenile justice"
''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', January 27, 2016

Career

Marsha Levick finished the

Friends Select School Friends Select School (FSS) is a college-preparatory, Quaker school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade located at 1651 Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the intersection of Cherry and N. 17th Streets in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wit ...

, Pennsylvania and graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Law School. She and three other

Law graduates founded the Juvenile Law Center in 1975. She had led the Juvenile Law Center litigation before the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme J ...

Kids for cash scandal The "kids for cash" scandal centered on judicial kickbacks to two judges at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, US. In 2008, judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were convicted of accepting money in ret ...

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

. She co-authored child advocates' ''

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

s'' for a number of cases before the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

: ''

Roper v. Simmons ''Roper v. Simmons'', 543 U.S. 551 (2005), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18. The 5–4 decision ov ...

'', ''

Graham v. Florida ''Graham v. Florida'', 560 U.S. 48 (2010), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses. In June 2012, in the related ...

'', '' J. D. B. v. North Carolina'', and ''

Miller v. Alabama ''Miller v. Alabama'', 567 U.S. 460 (2012), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that ''mandatory'' sentences of life without the possibility of parole are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. The ruling applied even ...

'' and served as a co-counsel in ''

Montgomery v. Louisiana ''Montgomery v. Louisiana'', 577 U.S. ___ (2016), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that its previous ruling in ''Miller v. Alabama'' (2012), that a mandatory life sentence without parole should not apply to persons co ...

''. She is an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the

Law School and

Temple University Beasley School of Law The Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law is the law school of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 530 students. Student body Admission for fall 2019 entering class was highly compe ...

Personal

Her father was an oncologist and her mother was a psychologist who founded the first graduate-level

art therapy Art therapy (not to be confused with ''arts therapy'', which includes other creative therapies such as drama therapy and music therapy) is a distinct discipline that incorporates creative methods of expression through visual art media. Art thera ...

program in the country at

Hahnemann University Drexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The medical school represents the consolidation of two medical schools: the first U.S. medical school ...

Hospital. Levick is married to Tom Innis, a Philadelphia public defender and they have two daughters.

Notable cases

* Pennsylvania

: Levick represented juveniles in two of several class action suits.Randall G. Shelden, Emily I. Troshynski, ''Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in American Society'', 2019,

Awards

*2015:

The Philadelphia Award The Philadelphia Award is given each year to a citizen of the Philadelphia region who, during the preceding year, acted and served on behalf of the best interests of the community. Created by Edward William Bok in 1921, The Philadelphia Award is a ...

; Quotation: "Mrs Levick's career-long commitment to advancing and safeguarding the rights of Philadelphia's youth has changed the face of juvenile justice not just in Philadelphia, but across the nation""Marsha Levick"
''The Philadelphia Award'' *Awards from professional associations: **

’s Women's Law Caucus Professional Achievement Award (2006) **

Pennsylvania Bar Association The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in Pennsylvania, United States. The association offers membership benefits, including publications, practice support, networking, and continuing ed ...

Child Advocate of the Year Award (2008) **Foundation for the Improvement of Justice Award (2009) ** Pennsylvania Prison Society Award for Meritorious Service (2009) **Philadelphia Bar Association's Andrew Hamilton Award (2009)"Marsha Levick, Co-Founder of the Juvenile Law Center, to Receive Prestigious Andrew Hamilton Award from the Public Interest Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association at Annual Awards Ceremony and Reception, Dec. 2"
/ref> **

American Association for Justice The American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) is a nonprofit advocacy and lobbying organization for plaintiff's lawyers in the United States. Focused on opposing tort reform, the organiza ...

Leonard Weinglass Award (2010) **

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

Livingston Hall Award (2010) ** Rutgers-Camden Black Law Student Association Champion of Justice Award (2010) **Clifford Scott Green Bill of Rights Award,

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Fede ...

, Philadelphia Criminal Justice Section (2010) (co-recipient) **Philadelphia Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section Thurgood Marshall Award (2011) (Co-recipient) *Other awards: **''

'' Citizen of the Year (2009) (co-recipient) **''

The Legal Intelligencer ''The Legal Intelligencer'' is the oldest daily law journal published in the United States, and serves the legal community of Philadelphia and surrounding areas. The paper was founded in 1843 by Philadelphia attorney Henry E. Wallace. The newsp ...

'', Women of Distinction (2010) **Good Shepherd Mediation Program Shepherd of Peace Award (2010) **Friends Select School, Distinguished Alumnae Award (2011) **Arlen Specter Award, The Legal Intelligencer (2013) **American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Catcher in the Rye Award (2017)

Career

Personal

Notable cases

Awards

References

Further reading