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ALEKSANDRA CHAUHAN, JD, Ph.D.
Juvenile Defender Advocate, SCCID
In the fall of 2019 Dr. Aleksandra Chauhan obtained an OJJDP grant to start a Juvenile Defender Advocate position at the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense. In that position Dr. Chauhan focuses on South Carolina juvenile justice data collection, training, and support of juvenile defense attorneys in the state. Prior to that, Dr. Chauhan was an assistant public defender in Richland County, SC. In 2015-2016, she obtained two federal grants to open a Youth Reentry Program at the Public Defender’s Office. The Youth Reentry team that she supervised consisted of a social worker, youth advocates and a civil attorney. It focused on holistic representation of the youth. Dr. Chauhan received her Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. During her doctoral studies she focused on researching the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After obtaining her Ph.D., she studied law and in 2013 received her J.D. at the USC School of Law. In addition to representing youth, Dr. Chauhan is on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Children’s Rights, Every Black Girl, Inc., the Columbia Film Society and is on the Advisory Committee of the Southern Juvenile Defense Center. Dr. Chauhan has presented keynotes and workshops on issues of reentry, trauma, and racial justice at local and national conferences. She is actively involved in creating systemic change in her community and raising awareness about needs and challenges youth face in their communities. Dr. Chauhan was recognized as a 2017 Juvenile Public Defender of the Year. She is a 2019 SC BAR Leadership Academy graduate and a 2020 Georgetown Law School Ambassador for Racial Justice.
SAMANTHA HORSLEY, PhD, ABPP (Forensic)
Dr. Samantha Horsley is a Chief Psychologist with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) Forensic Evaluation Services and is the Training Director for the SCDMH Forensic Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Sam Houston State University, completed her pre-doctoral internship at the US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, completed her post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at Texas Tech University/Lubbock Regional MHMR, and has been licensed since 2011. She also is board certified in forensic psychology and is a member of the American Board of Forensic Psychology examination faculty. In South Carolina, Dr. Horsley first worked in the SCDMH Forensic Evaluation Services performing competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility/capacity to conform evaluations with adults and juveniles. She then worked at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice conducting post-adjudicatory, psychosexual, and pre-waiver evaluations and supervising a team of community evaluators. Dr. Horsley returned to the Forensic Evaluation Services in 2018 and currently conducts competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility/capacity to conform, and sexually violent predator evaluations. Dr. Horsley also holds an academic position as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina, which enables her to provide supervision and didactic training to fellows completing the Department’s forensic psychiatry fellowship.
KATE KLEINFELTER, PhD
Dr. Kate Kleinfelter is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist who has been working with South Carolina’s youth and families for over 30 years. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology at Clemson University, and received her Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology at The University of South Carolina. She completed her residency at a consortium in Chicago and co-authored journal articles involving topics such as CDV and jury decisions and minors’ capacities to consent to treatment. She has presented at annual conferences and has trained hundreds of clinicians and attorneys on various topics such as: Adolescent Self-Injury, Working with Girls in the Juvenile Justice System, Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace, High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Psychometric Instruments for use in court
Dr. Kleinfelter currently is in private practice, with a primary focus on forensic consultation and evaluation for adolescents, covering waiver, competency, mitigation, disposition / rehabilitation needs, and some civil cases. Prior to this position, she was the psychologist for the girls’ program at BRRC and then supervised SCDJJ psychologists completing community evaluations for court in over 25 counties.
SAMANTHA LUCK, ESQ.
Samantha M. Luck is currently a juvenile public defender for the Richland County Public Defender’s Office. Previously she worked as the sole juvenile public defender in Lexington County. Prior to becoming a juvenile public defender, Ms. Luck worked as an attorney for Richland County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) representing volunteer court-appointed Guardians ad Litem for children in the foster care system. In addition to her experience in juvenile defense, Ms. Luck worked for a number of years at Disability Rights South Carolina (formerly Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. – P&A), where she represented students with disabilities in public primary and secondary education, ensuring the protection and enforcement of students’ rights under the IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA.
Ms. Luck obtained her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina. She later obtained her J.D. from USC in 2009. While attending law school, Ms. Luck worked as a law clerk for the Richland County Public Defender Office in the juvenile court division. During that time, she also became a court-appointed volunteer Guardian ad Litem. Ms. Luck serves on the S.C. Bar Children’s Law Committee. She is a Certified Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) Trainer and was a participant in the 2017 JTIP Summer Academy.
Ms. Luck has been a strong advocate for youth in S.C. throughout her legal career and believes wholeheartedly in fighting for the rights of children, especially for those in the criminal justice system. She believes that by investing in community services and programs aimed at addressing the needs of youth, rather than incarceration, youth will have much greater success at rehabilitation and better outcomes in the future.
LOGAN Y. ROYALS, ESQ.
Logan Y. Royals is a staff attorney at SCDMH, serving as the office’s primary forensic attorney. Logan is a 2014 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has worked in the SCDMH legal office since 2015.
SARAH DARBEE SMITH, ESQ.
Sarah Darbee Smith received her undergraduate degree in History from the College of Charleston. She received her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2001. As an attorney, Sarah has focused on juvenile justice matters, working as a juvenile public defender, a juvenile justice resource attorney for the Children’s Law Center at the University of South Carolina School of Law, and as assistant counsel at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Currently, Sarah works with juveniles as an assistant public defender at the Richland County Public Defender’s Office.
CATHERINE WEST, ESQ.
Catherine “Callie” West graduated in 2016 with a Juris Doctor and a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. While completing her degree, Callie became quite passionate about juvenile justice and interned with The Children’s Law Center, The Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Richland County Public Defender’s Office. After graduating from law school, she clerked for The Honorable Donald B. Hocker of the 8th Judicial Circuit. In 2017, she began work as a public defender for the 8th Judicial Circuit and continues to represent juveniles and adults in Laurens County. Callie received the Juvenile Public Defender of the Year Award in 2018. Callie lives in Simpsonville, SC with her husband, 2-year-old son, and dog named Winston.
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