In September 2019, the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law hosted a symposium on challenging petty offenses that criminalize poverty, marginalization, and gender non-conformity, in collaboration with the University of Miami Law Review, University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review, University of Miami School of Communication, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, and the Open Society Foundations’s Human Rights Initiative.

The symposium provided an opportunity to connect local, national, and global conversations on criminal law and social justice and to promote learning across movements and countries, bringing together leading advocates and scholars from the United States, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya, Jamaica, Israel, India, Hungary, Guyana, Guinea, and Ghana. Participants critically examined issues from a variety of perspectives and explored the use of litigation; human rights advocacy at the local, national, regional, and international levels; and creative campaigning in challenging petty offenses.

In addition to various resources, this special issue of the University of Miami Law Review Caveat presents articles and short response essays further probing symposium themes.