{"id":117991,"date":"2025-06-06T09:15:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=117991"},"modified":"2025-06-30T14:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:58:30","slug":"alumni-activists","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2025\/alumni-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Activists"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-quaternary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta.png 800w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-636x636.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-682x682.png 682w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-344x344.png 344w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-529x529.png 529w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-688x688.png 688w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-600x600.png 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-550x550.png 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-710x710.png 710w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photo by Chris Sorensen. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlumni Activists\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">BU Law alumni on the front line push for systemic change.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar js-block-editorial-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 6, 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/ting-yu\/\">Ting Yu<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-outlined has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-quaternary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>In Spring 2020, the country was nearing the peak of the COVID lockdown, and American society had ground to a halt. But the police killing of George Floyd on March 25 spurred a wave of outrage and uprisings that shattered government- imposed quarantines and spilled into the streets. In New York City, thousands of people marched in protest, though a week of largely peaceful demonstrations was marred by episodes of looting and property damage. As tensions rose, the law enforcement response boiled over into violence.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>JENN ROLNICK BORCHETTA (\u201904),<\/strong> then an attorney with a public defender nonprofit in the Bronx, remembers conducting intake with nonviolent protestors who had been surrounded by New York City police officers and beaten with batons. \u201cPeople were very shaken,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThe NYPD had plainly used excessive force. These were Black people, who were protesting the police murder of a Black man, being treated in such a way that was replicating what they were there to protest.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-636x477.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-1101x826.png 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-909x682.png 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-459x344.png 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-705x529.png 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2-917x688.png 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Borchetta-2.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Jenn Rolnick Borchetta (\u201904) | Photo by Chris Sorensen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General found that the NYPD had used \u201cdisproportionate\u201d force and against \u201ca wide swath of people who had no apparent connection to that potential criminal activity.\u201d Borchetta represented 24 individuals injured by the NYPD response to protest in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, the nation\u2019s poorest congressional district. She and her team helped secure $1 million in compensation for their cohort of clients\u2014called the Mott Haven Collective\u2014and advocated for more investment in public mental health services for the Bronx community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese were people in the wake of something horrible putting themselves in the vulnerable position of having their trauma litigated,\u201d she says. \u201cThey came together to prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else. It was incredible to bear witness to that kind of commitment and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking truth to power is woven into Borchetta\u2019s family fabric. \u201cWe grew up with civil rights as a conversation around the dinner table,\u201d she says. In the nineties, her mother, a community organizer, pushed for investigations into police use of racial profiling during traffic stops in Middlesex County, New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style- has-image-focus-center-middle has-quaternary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><figure><\/figure><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">Even as a law student, I could see the power of advocacy to change lives.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Jenn Rolnick Borchetta (\u201904)<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Borchetta\u2019s interest in civil rights activism only deepened during her years at BU Law. \u201cI was in my first month of law school when 9\/11 happened,\u201d she says, \u201cso my class was having active conversations around both [security] threats and threats to our rights\u2014the Patriot Act and limitations on civil rights and civil liberties\u2014the sense of trauma and fear of rights being eroded was palpable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She was profoundly influenced by BU Law criminal procedure courses and the criminal defender clinic, where she successfully advocated for a minor to be tried as a juvenile rather than an adult. \u201cEven as a law student, I could see the power of advocacy to change lives,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2009, while Borchetta was working with the Center for Constitutional Rights, she took on the federal class-action lawsuit that has defined her career. <em>Floyd v. City of New York <\/em>challenged the NYPD\u2019s practice of racial profiling and aggressive stop-and-frisks of city residents. As senior counsel, she spent the next five years immersed in the case\u2014building discovery, defeating a motion for summary judgment, and representing plaintiffs in a dramatic nine-week trial that called more than a hundred witnesses, from victims to prominent NYPD officials. The proceedings were closely watched by the press and public, who packed the courthouse each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a momentous 2013 decision, a federal judge found the NYPD liable for a pattern of racial profiling and unconstitutional stops. Borchetta spent the following decade working closely with community groups, the NYPD, and a court-appointed monitor to reform the city\u2019s policing tactics and officer training. Although Borchetta is quick to point out how much still needs to change, the significance of the <em>Floyd<\/em> verdict has been staggering. Prior to the ruling, the NYPD conducted hundreds of thousands of stop-and-frisks each year, peaking at 686,000 in 2011. Just one year after the trial, the number of stops plummeted to 46,000 and was last reported in 2023 at 17,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style- has-image-focus-center-middle has-quaternary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><figure><\/figure><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">If we want to make meaningful change in civil rights, we need to build coalitions with community stakeholders and make sure our litigation is supporting wider efforts because, as attorneys, we can\u2019t make this change in the silo of a single courtroom.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Jenn Rolnick Borchetta (\u201904)<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In her new role as deputy project director of the American Civil Liberties Union\u2019s Criminal Law Reform Project, Borchetta\u2019s primary focus is on developing legal strategies to advance individual rights and liberties and to challenge police abuse. \u201cOver the last four years, we have seen greater awareness of racialized police violence and tremendous support for ending it,\u201d she says. \u201cBut we\u2019ve also learned that ending police abuse is really hard to do. There is no one solution. Going forward, there has to be continued pressure for accountability, because when that pressure lets up, the misconduct begins to rise again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Borchetta\u2019s work centers on increasing legal protections in pedestrian and traffic stops, pushing back against racial profiling, and preventing excessive force. She wants to see greater investment in alternate safety models\u2014such as sending trained mental health responders to mental health crises\u2014and more support for poverty-stricken communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the core of Borchetta\u2019s approach is a deep respect for the experiences and perspectives of those who have suffered police abuse. \u201cIt would be a mistake to think that any community in America is a monolith,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need to listen to the people impacted by police violence. If we want to make meaningful change in civil rights, we need to build coalitions with community stakeholders and make sure our litigation is supporting wider efforts because, as attorneys, we can\u2019t make this change in the silo of a single courtroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"headline-1\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-headline record-block-editorial-headline\">Preventing the Policing of Families<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-117996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-636x477.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-1101x826.png 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-909x682.png 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-459x344.png 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-705x529.png 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1-917x688.png 917w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Trivedi1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Shanta Trivedi (\u201908) | Photo by Michael A. McCoy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Police brutality wasn\u2019t the only social justice cause to gain traction during the COVID pandemic. Nationwide school closures brought renewed attention to the country\u2019s child welfare system, particularly its reliance on mandated reporters\u2014primarily law enforcement, healthcare and social service providers, and educators\u2014who are required by law to disclose suspected child abuse or neglect to authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, fierce debate has swirled around the question of whether mandated reporting does more harm than good. Educational personnel account for the second-largest percentage of calls to Child Protective Services (CPS), but a 2023 analysis of statistics from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System shows their allegations are the least-often substantiated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>School shutdowns during the pandemic set the stage for an unplanned experiment. With stressed-out parents and kids learning remotely\u2014no longer under the daily supervision of teachers\u2014would child abuse increase unchecked? Many child advocates feared the worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, post-pandemic statistics revealed a different story. Calls to CPS fell precipitously, but other metrics of child abuse\u2014child emergency room visits and hospital admissions for abusive head traumas\u2014also declined dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To child welfare scholar <strong>SHANTA TRIVEDI (\u201908)<\/strong>, the data came as no surprise. For years, Trivedi, a family law professor at the University of Baltimore, has been part of a vocal coalition advocating for a full repeal of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), a federal law intended to address child mistreatment. She says that rather than supporting children\u2019s safety, health, and well-being, CAPTA allocates three-quarters of its $141 million budget to child welfare agencies that \u201csurveil, investigate, and separate families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no evidence that mandated reporting works,\u201d she says. \u201cThese calls usually don\u2019t turn up the alleged abuse, but what <em>does<\/em> happen is it introduces CPS into the lives of families in a very intrusive way, creating a destructive cycle of punishment and judgment far beyond the initial concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can include stringent interventions that amount to what Trivedi calls \u201cfamily policing\u201d\u2014and, like traditional policing, these interventions disproportionately affect low- income families of color.&nbsp; Extensive research shows persistent racial disparities in CPS involvement with Black and white children. More than half of all Black children\u2014compared to 28 percent of white children\u2014will be the subject of a CPS investigation before they turn 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style- has-image-focus-center-middle has-quaternary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><figure><\/figure><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">We are openly having a conversation about racism in the family policing system in a way that we simply weren\u2019t a few years ago.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Shanta Trivedi (\u201908)<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One positive result of the pandemic, Trivedi says, is that the public now sees the parallels between the Black Lives Matter movement and calls to end family policing. \u201cWe are openly having a conversation about racism in the family policing system in a way that we simply weren\u2019t a few years ago,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trivedi argues that CPS calls often trigger a cascade of punitive measures that can cause irreparable damage to families. For instance, a teacher may report that a child has been coming to school hungry, with the intention of helping the family access needed services. However, \u201conce CPS opens an investigation, they can make announced and unannounced home visits. Unlike a criminal case, there\u2019s no warrant requirement,\u201d Trivedi says. Investigators can search anywhere in a home, interview children without their parents present, and even inspect a child\u2019s body for bruises whether or not physical abuse was alleged. Parents may be forced to submit to drug testing even if there is no suspicion of drug use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parents who work long hours or have limited childcare options may be penalized for missing mandatory parenting classes or therapy sessions. Or they can be required to show they have stable employment or housing\u2014things that may not be within their control. \u201cThe threat that the kids could be removed is ever present and used to force compliance,\u201d Trivedi explains. \u201cAnd now, because of this oversurveillance, CPS has a whole new set of allegations that have nothing to do with the original concern but rather become about whether or not the parent is doing the things on the agency\u2019s checklists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Short of the repeal of CAPTA, Trivedi hopes to see funding shift from surveillance to community-based programming designed to help families in crisis. \u201cWe need to build up communities to be well because so many of the problems that lead to people getting into the [child welfare] system are based on poverty and a subjective determination of neglect,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to her teaching and advocacy work, Trivedi has authored papers on the detriments of taking children from their parents and placing them in foster care. She supports repealing the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which gives the state the power to permanently terminate parental rights if a child is in foster care for 15 out of 22 months. At a bare minimum, she wants to see a federal amendment to make it a consecutive 24-month timeline, with exceptions for incarceration, immigration detention, or substance use relapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cBeing a parent is so hard, and I know I\u2019m privileged,\u201d she says. \u201cI have the freedom to have a bad day and try to do better tomorrow. Other parents don\u2019t have that freedom because the assumption is that they\u2019re bad parents, and that can sometimes lead to them losing their children forever. There is no requirement in the law that you are a perfect parent. That might make people uncomfortable, but one person\u2019s idea of what makes a good parent is shaped by their parents, community, religion, culture, and values. I\u2019m dreaming of a society where every parent has the freedom to raise their children in a way that\u2019s safe but also up to them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Spring 2020, the country was nearing the peak of the COVID lockdown, and American society had ground to a halt. But the police killing of George Floyd on March 25 spurred a wave of outrage and uprisings that shattered government- imposed quarantines and spilled into the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20326,"featured_media":117993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"{\"post_id\":118216,\"hed\":\"Health Law Mentorship Program: Making Matches to Ignite a Passion\",\"dek\":\"Next Article\",\"class\":\"wp-block-editorial-billboard record-block-editorial-billboard has-media\",\"backgroundId\":\"118262\",\"backgroundUrl\":\"\\\/law\\\/files\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/Health-Law-Mentorships-RS25-Cropped-1-970x456.png\",\"backgroundType\":\"image\",\"backgroundOpacity\":\"100\"}","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Alumni","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[3104,3560,1896,3785],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3744,3770,3765,4135,3786],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/117991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117991"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/117991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118774,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/117991\/revisions\/118774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117991"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=117991"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=117991"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=117991"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=117991"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=117991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}