Jessica V. Den Houter
Jessica V.ÌýDen Houter
Assistant Professor of Law
Degrees
- LL.M. Georgetown University Law Center
- J.D. Georgetown University Law Center
- M.S.W. University of Michigan
- B.S. Northwestern University
Biography
Professor Jessica Den Houter joined the faculty of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2025. Prior to that, she was a visiting professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she served as acting director of the Bronfein Family Law Clinic. She also taught the first-year Legal Writing course at Lewis & Clark Law School as an assistant professor.
Before entering academia, Den Houter worked at Disability Rights DC, where she advocated for individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities. She also completed a litigation fellowship at the DC Affordable Law Firm, a partnership between Georgetown University Law Center and private law firms aimed at expanding access to civil justice. Earlier in her career, she was a founding team member of a public charter high school in Washington, D.C., serving as both the school social worker and post-secondary transition coordinator.
Her research interests focus on children and the law, particularly the experiences of children with disabilities as they navigate government systems, including the juvenile legal system, child welfare, and public education.
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Courses Taught
Applied Legal Theory and Analysis (ALTA) -
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Selected Publications
Children Are Not Inmates, 86 OHIO ST. L.J. ___ (2025) (forthcoming).
Making State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies Work for Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities, 40 T. JEFFERSON L. REV. 23 (2017) (published as part of Crane Disability and the Law Writing Competition, where it was selected as the winner).
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Selected Presentations
Invited Speaker, Mental Health and the Juvenile Legal System, Indiana Health Law Review Symposium, October 202
Paper Presentation, Are Children Inmates? Dehumanizing and Denying Care to Our Most Vulnerable, N.Y.U. Clinical Law Review Workshop, October 2023
Paper Presentation, Are Children Inmates? Dehumanizing and Denying Care to Our Most Vulnerable, Mid-Atlantic Clinical Writing Workshop, June 2023
Paper Presentation, Are Children Inmates? Dehumanizing and Denying Care to Our Most Vulnerable, Family Law Scholars and Teachers Conference, June 2023
Moderator, “The Dobbs Decision: What Does it Mean and What Might be Next?,” University of Baltimore School of Law, forthcoming, September 28, 2022
Presenter, “Constructing a Helpful (Not Harmful) Juvenile Legal System,” University of Baltimore RED (Research Engagement Day) Talks, March 17, 2022
Moderator, “Big Ideas in Human Rights,” 13th Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference, University of Baltimore School of Law, April 8, 2022
Panelist, Our Children in Crisis: A Focus on D.C.’s Crossover Youth, Council for Court Excellence, Washington, D.C. July 29, 2021
Paper Presentation, Continuity of Mental Health Care for Medicaid-Eligible Youth Involved with the Juvenile Legal System, Mid-Atlantic Clinicians’ Writing Workshop, Washington, D.C., June 10, 2021
Presenter, “Restraint and Seclusion in DC: What is the state of the law, and what does it mean for students and their families?,” Advocates for Justice and Education PolicyForum, December 3, 2019
Presenter, “Introduction to Asylum Law,” DC Affordable Law Firm New Fellow Training, Washington, D.C., October 11, 2018
Presenter, “Accessing Vocational Rehabilitation Services for System Involved Youth,D.C. Criminal Justice Act Attorneys,” Georgetown Juvenile Justice Initiative, January 26,2017