Andrew Block

  • Associate Professor of Law, General Faculty
  • Director, State and Local Government Law Clinic

Andrew Block previously served as director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice from 2014 to 2019. As director, Block led major reforms and improvements in the department, including safely reducing the population of youth in state-operated juvenile correction centers, reforming rehabilitative programming, and replacing juvenile correction centers with a continuum of community and evidence-based programs and alternative placements.

Before leading the department, Block directed the Child Advocacy Clinic at the Law School from 2010-14, and previously founded and served as the legal director of the JustChildren program of the Legal Aid Justice Center. A graduate of Yale University and Northwestern Law School, Block has also worked as a staff attorney for the Seattle-King County Public Defenders, as an instructor for Santa Fe Mountain Center and a staff attorney for TeamChild, a legal aid program dedicated to juvenile justice issues.

Block received various awards for his work at JustChildren, including the American Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division Child Advocacy Award, the Virginia State Bar’s Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year and the Virginia Bar Association’s Robert F. Shepherd, Jr. Award.

Education

  • J.D.
    Northwestern University School of Law
    1994
  • B.A.
    Yale University
    1987

Textbooks

Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia (edited with Angela A. Ciolfi), Virginia CLE (4 ed. 2014).
Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia (edited with Angela A. Ciolfi), Virginia CLE (3 ed. 2009).

Book Chapters

An Introduction to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (with Angela A. Ciolfi), in Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia, Virginia CLE Publications, 1–23 (3 ed. 2009).
The Comprehensive Services Act, Petitions for Services, and Other Proceedings (with Angela A. Ciolfi), in Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia, Virginia CLE Publications, 693–735 (3 ed. 2009).
Using Educational Law to Create Better Outcomes in Juvenile Cases (with Angela A. Ciolfi & William B. Reichhardt), in Juvenile Law and Practice in Virginia, Virginia CLE Publications, 665–691 (3 ed. 2009).

Articles & Reviews

A Look Back and a Look Forward: Legislative and Regulatory Highlights for 2008 and 2009 and a Discussion of Juvenile Transfer, 44 University of Richmond Law Review 53–80 (2009).

Op-Eds, Blogs, Shorter Works

To Keep Youth in Their Communities We Must Keep Up the Momentum of Collaboration, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (June 15, 2020).
Let's Come Together for Court-Involved Youth, Their Families and Their Communities, Richmond Times-Dispatch (May 14, 2020).
Judges Should Decide Whether Youth Are Tried as Adults, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (February 6, 2020).

Current Courses

Children and the Law
State and Local Government Policy Clinic (YR-Fall)
State and Local Government Policy Clinic (YR-Spring)

All Courses

Child Advocacy Clinic
State and Local Government Law Clinic

IN THE NEWS

04/07/2023
UVA Students Help Bring Major Mental Health Reform (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
03/01/2023
2022 Conference: Session 2 - Social and Justice Systems (Youth-Nex)
02/20/2023
City of Virginia Beach Partners With UVA’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service for Community Engagement Initiative on Future Election System Options (City of Virginia Beach)
01/10/2023
Chief: 6-Year-Old Shot Virginia Teacher During Class Lesson (The Associated Press)
01/10/2023
What We Know and Don’t Know About the Case of a 6-Year-Old Who Allegedly Shot His Teacher (CNN)
01/08/2023
Newport News Boy ‘In Shock’ After Witnessing Classmate Shoot Teacher (The Washington Post)
01/07/2023
A 6-Year-Old Shot His Teacher in Virginia, Police Say: What We Know About the Teacher’s Condition, What Happens Next (USA Today)
01/07/2023
A 6-Year-Old Is Accused of Shooting His Teacher. His Path Through the Justice System Will Be Different. (The Daily Progress)
01/07/2023
After 6-Year-Old Is Accused in School Shooting, Many Questions and a Murky Legal Path (The New York Times)
09/01/2022
Episode 69: What Does Inequality Look Like in Virginia? (Bold Dominion)
06/01/2022
UVA Library Joins ‘On the Books’ Project With Mellon Foundation Grant for ‘Modeling a Racial Caste System: Algorithmic Exposure of Virginia’s Jim Crow Laws’ (UVA Library)
04/23/2022
City Council Discusses Proposed changes to Community Development Block Grant at First Hybrid Meeting in Two Years (The Cavalier Daily)
04/10/2022
UVa Law Clinic Helps Update Youth Delinquency Prevention Act (The Daily Progress)
03/11/2022
UVA Law Students and Professor Work With Sen. McClellan on SB 485 Bill (NBC29)
03/10/2022
Study Conducted by UVA Law Students Shows Major Wealth Gaps Between White and Black Virginians (NBC29)
01/06/2022
Virginia Commission Urges Policy Changes To Address Inequity in the State’s Economy, Rural Life, Environment (The Washington Post)
09/24/2021
Transfers to Adult Court Have Serious Implications for Juvenile Defendants (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
03/21/2021
UVa Law Clinic Assists in Bill Allowing Inclusion of Mental Health Evidence (The Daily Progress)
02/26/2021
Better, More Community Input Is Needed To Address Environmental Injustice, Commission Finds (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
02/12/2021
Racial Inequity Committee Finds Widespread Disparities Across Virginia, Releases Recommendations To Bridge the Gap (NBC29)
10/14/2020
UVA Law Working With Virginia Parole Board on Research and Reform (NBC29)
06/15/2020
To Keep Youth In Their Communities We Must Keep Up the Momentum of Collaboration (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)
05/14/2020
Andrew Block Column: Let's Come Together for Court-Involved Youth, Their Families and Their Communities (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
04/20/2020
Northam Signs Bills Repealing Discriminatory Language Remaining in Virginia Laws (NBC29)
02/06/2020
COMMENTARY: Judges Should Decide Whether Youths Are Tried as Adults (The Free Lance-Star)
12/16/2019
UVA Law Professor Helps Commonwealth Overhaul Racially Discriminatory Laws Still on the Books (NBC29)
12/15/2019
Block To Return as Professor at UVA Law School (The Daily Progress)
12/05/2019
Commission Releases Report on ‘Deeply Troubling’ Racism in Defunct Virginia Law (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
10/18/2019
Jamal’s Story (Crime Story)
08/16/2019
First Days: Tragedy and Transformation in Juvenile Justice (Crime Story)

AT UVA LAW

Clinic Helps Pass Mental Health Reforms in Virginia
Needing the Most, Getting the Least
Accolades: UVA Law No. 2 in Employment Outcomes
Clinic Helps Lawmakers Pass Childhood Literacy Bill
Report Offers Recommendations for Reducing Racial Wealth Gap in Virginia
The Tipping Point for Criminal Justice Reform
Students Present Findings on Racial Inequality to Governor’s Commission
Juvenile Justice Expert Andrew Block Rejoins Faculty
State Juvenile Justice Director Block Returns to UVA Law to Discuss His Work
Andrew Block Jr. Tapped to Direct Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice
UVA Law Clinic Report Raises Questions About Virginia's Religious Exemptions from School Attendance
UVA Law Clinic Wins Young Clients Early Release from Juvenile Prison
UVA Law Innocence Project, Child Advocacy Clinics Fight to Clear Teen Convicted of Rape
Leading Child Advocate Andrew Block to Join Law School Faculty