STACEY A. SHORTALL says even a polite foreigner such as herself can see to the Dickensian quick of a blemish on the criminal justice system of New York.

“Women are quite easily losing their children in this system,” said Ms. Shortall, 29, a New Zealander and a litigator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. “It’s a global issue, really, the deterioration of family units, and the consequences.”