In the Law School's Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, students and faculty apply their studies to their practice, changing lives and the law. BEEN accused of anything, Cook County Juvenile Court is a scary place. The interior's not so friendly, either. Setting it off prompts a quick frisking.
Bags ride through a scanner, and are frequently opened and searched.
Past the main lobby, guards sweep regularly through the halls to encourage people standing without a purpose or a direction to find one, and soon. Most visitors retreat into the small, brick-walled waiting areas, filled with rows of benches, just outside the courtrooms. No one talks much. Parents keep their children close. They're just kids.