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Hon. Jay D. Blitzman
Contact Information

jblitzman@nesl.edu

Areas of Expertise
  • Juvenile Law
  • Children's Rights
  • Civil Rights
  • Civil Right to Counsel
  • Civil Litigation & Procedure
  • Criminal Law and Procedure

Hon. Jay D. Blitzman

Lecturer on Law

Education

JD Boston College Law School
BA Union College

Professional Background

Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Blitzman was a public defender who was a co-founder and the first director of the Roxbury Youth Advocacy Project, an interdisciplinary public defender’s unit which was the template for the creation of the statewide Massachusetts Youth Advocacy Division. He was also a co-founder of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ).  Since his judicial retirement, he has consulted for the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC) and served as the interim Executive Director of Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) and serves MAC as an Emeritus Policy Advisor. Jay consults on juvenile, criminal, and child welfare issues; mentors attorneys; and holds teaching positions at Harvard Law School (Trial Advocacy), Northeastern Law School (Juvenile Law), and Boston College Law (The Cradle to Prison Pipeline). Jay is also on the faculty at the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior focusing on late teen and emerging adult issues (CLBB- M.G.H. & Harvard Medical School). He also was an affiliate of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Jay writes and presents frequently on a wide array of issues related to advancing equity and deconstructing the cradle to prison pipeline. Recent articles include, Cheating The Evidence To Get To Best Interest (Family Court Review, Hofstra Law 2024),  Let The Sunshine In (ABA Criminal Justice 2024), Let’s Follow The Science on Late Adolescence (ABA Criminal Justice 2022), The State of Juvenile Justice 2018-2024 (ABA Criminal Justice), Shutting Down The School to Prison Pipeline (ABA Human Rights 2021), Open The Doors (Mass. L. Rev. 2021),  Justice for Some: A Tale of Two Americas (Civic Right Institute Juvenile Justice Update 2020), and Deconstructing The School to Prison Pipeline (BBA Journal 2018).   

Jay serves on the boards of directors of Discovering Justice and Massachusetts Mental Health Advisory Committee and is a member of the advisory boards of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ), UTEC, and Northeastern Law School’s Cradle to Prison and Salus Populi (Social Determinants of Public Health). Jay is also a Massachusetts Advocates for Justice Fellow working with More Than Words (MTW). On November 2, 2024, Jay received the Massachusetts Psychological Association’s Humanitarian of the Year Award. In 2023 Jay was the first recipient of CfJJ’s Youth Juvenile Justice Icon award and was the 2019 ABA Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award. Other recognition includes being the first person to receive the MBA Juvenile & Child Welfare Section Award, the 2023 Boston College Law School Holland Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lowell 100 award, the Judge Paul Chernoff Servants of Justice Award and the Rebecca Pries Adolescent Consultation Services Indispensable Friend Award. Massachusetts’ public defender system annually presents annually the Jay Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy.