By By Rob Tokanel, News Staff

‘ The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has provided a $230,000 grant to Northeastern Criminal Justice faculty to fund a study of legal representation in China’s lower court cases, according to a university official.
Associate Criminal Justice Professor Phil He and Associate Dean Jack McDevitt will conduct a two-year study in the Fujian Province with Professor Lanying Li at the Law School of Xiamen University. Li said the goal of the study is to determine how often China’s indigent class is offered legal counsel in China’s lowest court system, which deals with the majority of criminal cases in the country.
‘Our goal is to go into China to, first of all, find out what the extent is of legal representation at the current time at the lowest level courts,’ he said. ‘Second ‘hellip; it’s a matter of effectiveness, the quality of counsel.’
In order to do that, he said he would be conducting a sample study of 15 lower courts in an area where many citizens would not be able to afford legal counsel.
‘In the US, the courts provide a public attorney,’ he said. ‘In China, such provisions only apply to people charged with capital offenses. It’s treated as a privilege, not as a right.’
The grant comes at a time when the university is considering various possibilities for restructuring the colleges of Criminal Justice and Arts and Sciences. A committee has held several meetings to discuss the new forms the college could take, and some students have expressed concern that losing the esteemed Criminal Justice name’ could have negative ramifications, as reported in articles in the Jan. 15 and Jan. 20 issues of The News.
Northeastern President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that the grant helped showcase the strength of the school’s social science departments.
‘Northeastern’s criminal justice faculty and students are leaders in producing social science research to benefit global communities,’ he said. ‘This grant further demonstrates the leadership of our criminal justice program, which is a vibrant part of our academic offerings. The partnership with Xiamen University will foster a global exchange of ideas about China’s criminal court system, which could have an even greater impact on the world stage.’
According to a Northeastern press release, only one lawyer is available in China per 8,867 citizens, compared to one for every 281 citizens in the United States. Li said the study will be the first of its kind and could lead to eventual legislative reforms.
‘No empirical research has been conducted on that issue,’ he said. ‘It’s about due process, and it’s about human rights.’
The MacArthur Foundation grants money to defend human rights causes; advance global conservation and security; and make cities better places, according to its website. Li said the money would help the study gain substantive results and further solidify the two schools’ reputations as leaders in criminal justice policy research.