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Save the Date for the Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice Symposium: February 26th, 2027!
Call for Creative Work
“Emerging Issues in the Law of Confinement”
The Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice (NJAJ) at the University of Nebraska College of Law invites creative work submissions created by incarcerated individuals, their loved ones, and those who work closely with them for its inaugural symposium, “Emerging Issues in the Law of Confinement.” The Symposium will bring together scholars, practitioners, advocates, and students to explore cutting-edge legal questions arising from the incarceration and detention of people in the United States and beyond. Selected work will be on display so that participants can connect the scholarship to the lived experience of incarceration.
About the Symposium
NJAJ is committed to publishing rigorous, accessible scholarship that advances justice and equity in the law. This year’s symposium focuses on the evolving landscape governing confinement—including jails, prisons, immigration detention, and other carceral settings—with particular attention to emerging doctrinal developments, systemic challenges, and reform efforts.
We welcome submissions on topics including, but not limited to:
- Emerging Eighth Amendment doctrine and conditions of confinement
- Technology, surveillance, and incarcerated people
- Medical and mental health care in carceral settings
- Legal access, court access, and prison litigation reform
- The impact of federal policy shifts on incarcerated and detained populations
- Immigration detention and the convergence of criminal and civil confinement
- Solitary confinement and prolonged isolation
- Confinement and disability rights
- Incarceration and race, gender, and identity
- Abolition, decarceration, and legal reform
Submission Guidelines
Submissions can include drawings, paintings, photographs, or any other visual media that illustrates the realities of incarceration as experienced firsthand or as witnessed by others. Accepted work will be on display at the University of Nebraska College of Law from February 22 to the date of the Symposium on February 26, 2027.
Submissions should be mailed to:
Danielle Jefferis
University of Nebraska College of Law, Office 261N
1875 N. 42nd St.
Lincoln, NE 68503
Submissions should be sent no later than December 15, 2026, and should include the title of the work, the artist’s name, and a brief bio. Work accepted for presentation will be considered for publication in NJAJ following the standard editorial review process. NJAJ cannot commit to returning submissions sent in from prisons due to facility regulations. If you include an outside address with your submission, NJAJ will attempt to return the work to that address.