Practice Tool
This document is updated regularly to include the latest federal and state caselaw from across the country discussing racial justice issues.
From the introduction: “This Article proceeds in three parts. Part I describes how federal courts have interpreted potential sources of substantive immigration detention law and why some have produced, through their decisions, lawlessness for immigrants facing poor conditions of confinement. I focus on three areas: substantive due process, statutory immigration law interpretation, and the enforcement…
From the abstract: “This Article frames the experience of traffic stops for noncitizens as a form of “slow deportation.” It describes how the use of traffic stops to police noncitizens extends the system of racialized social control to immigrant communities with the effect of surveilling both race and status. It surveys scholarship across disciplines, racial…
From the introduction: “On January 29, 2025, President Trump signed the Laken Riley Act (LRA), Pub. L. 119-1, 139 Stat. 3, into law. The LRA undermines due process and will disproportionately target immigrant communities of color for detention and deportation. The law expands no-bond detention for certain noncitizens in immigration proceedings, and it also purports…
From the introduction: “This advisory takes you through the various stages of removal proceedings to provide an overview of the process. It also explains key terms that may be relevant to your noncitizen clients.”
This resource is part of the Youth Defender Advocacy Program (YDAP) curriculum, a specialized trial advocacy training program for youth defenders.
This memo, filed by youth defenders from the Hamilton County, Ohio public defender office, demands evidentiary competence hearings based on state statutory grounds and constitutional doctrines of fundamental fairness, effective assistance of counsel, and separation of powers. Notably, this memo cites Standard 3.2 of the National Youth Defense System Standards on independence to highlight an…
From the memorandum opinion: “Two men on lifetime parole claim they face disability discrimination from two federal agencies that supervise them. So these men, William Mathis and Kennedy Davis (together, “the Parolees”), now sue those federal agencies, the U.S. Parole Commission and the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and the heads of those agencies…
This checklist can be used to assess the presence of constitutional violations throughout the course of a client’s case. Please refer to the National Youth Defense Systems Standards and their accompanying User Guide for litigation strategies to challenge potential constitutional violations noted in this checklist.
This User Guide provides advocates with a step-by-step outline of how to actualize the vision of the National Youth Defense System Standards to equip and invest in youth defense teams to fight for the liberation of all youth. The User Guide outlines constitutional rights detailed in the System Standards, provides a checklist to assess the…
From the introduction: “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides a pathway to a green card for young people who have been ‘abandoned, abused, or neglected’ by a parent. ‘Abandoned, abused, or neglected’ are legal terms that have different definitions in each state.”
These FAQs are intended to clarify the role and obligations of the youth defender in juvenile court.
From the preliminary statement: “This case, brought by a class of people who are or will be on parole or supervised release in Washington, D.C., challenges the failure of the federal government’s post-conviction supervision system to accommodate individuals with disabilities as required by federal law.”
