Program Highlights

Program Dates

May 17 – June 14, 2025 

Faculty Directors

John Rubin, Albert Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Government, School of Government
Jane Perkins, Litigation Director, National Health Law Program, and Adjunct Instructor, School of Government

Program Highlights

While having a mental health diagnosis does not make a person more likely to commit a crime, an overwhelming number of people involved in the criminal justice system have unmet health, mental health, and substance use needs. As the title of the course indicate, the availability and unavailability of appropriate health services, under the law and in practice, can lead to the “making or unmaking of a criminal.” The course is a single, three-credit course, which involves the intersection of criminal law and justice and health law and policy, with emphasis on mental health law. Students will learn about the impediments to providing care in the usually siloed criminal and health care systems. By exploring differences in the US and UK, students will learn how to identify opportunities for better coordination that would improve outcomes for justice-involved and potentially justice-involved people and communities.  

The legal system in the US is based on that of the UK and, as such, past and current legal developments in the UK have particular prominence when discussing criminal justice and health law and policy in the US. The London location will influence teaching and students’ learning by facilitating study of differences in the approach in the UK and US and evaluation of innovative and potentially replicable strategies. The host culture, history, and society will be integrated into the program and student experience through guest instructors and weekly site visits, including criminal court, a former mental asylum, and exhibits.