Adolescent Development
From the abstract: “Forcible separation and detention of children from parents seeking asylum in the United States has been decried as immoral and halted by court order. Babies and children have been separated and transported to facilities sometimes many miles away. Limited data on forced detention of unaccompanied minors reveal high incidence of posttraumatic stress,…
“In this article, we address the question left unanswered by the Court in J.D.B.: In light of the substantial research establishing that children’s understanding and appreciation of the Miranda warnings are quite limited, must the traditional test for assessing the validity of an individual’s waiver of their Miranda rights be re-calibrated to take into account…
An infographic outlining strategies for post-disposition advocacy.
This article from Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh and Dr. Thomas Grisso examines the roles experts can play in “Montgomery” resentencing cases. From the article: “In summary, experts can play an important role in the approximately five hundred Miller/ Montgomery cases pending in Pennsylvania’s courts. Experts retained by the defense can serve as educators or evaluators. In…
This affidavit written by Legal Ethicist Abbe Smith outlines the ethical quandaries posed by Florida’s direct file transfer laws and calls into question the legality of such laws based on adolescent development research. The affidavit states in relevant part: “The prosecutorial practice of direct file plea-bargaining without defender/child knowledge of the case’s strengths and weaknesses…
This policy report features interviews of young people who have been incarcerated in youth facilities in Colorado and details the harmful conditions and culture in these programs. From the Executive Summary: “Despite a mission of rehabilitation rather than punishment, the culture of the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections (DYC) is plagued by punitive practices that…
On January 3, 2017, the DOJ filed a Statement of Interest in a case involving the use of solitary confinement for 16 and 17 year olds in the Onondaga County Justice Center in New York. This brief outlines the harms of solitary confinement as applied to young people in light of their brain development and…
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a federal class action lawsuit challenging the use of solitary confinement for 16- and 17-year-old youth in custody, including youth with disabilities. Calling for the federal district court to consider Supreme Court jurisprudence and growing scientific research on adolescent development, the DOJ asserts, “Juveniles…
This article from the American Criminal Law Review “argues that our judicial system and legislatures, when crafting juvenile justice law, policy, and practice, cannot stop with merely incorporating the research behind the impact of normal adolescent development on the decisionmaking abilities of youth; they must also incorporate the research behind how the experience of trauma…
On December 14, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with the St. Louis County Family Court to remedy constitutional violations. The settlement agreement covers policies and practices to ensure the due process and equal protection rights of all youth are upheld. This includes early appointment of youth defense counsel, prohibition…
Outlines recommendations to reduce the number of probation conditions, eliminate surveillance-based conditions, and simplify language on probation orders for youth.
From the Introduction: “The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that adolescents’ immaturity warrants special protections under the law. In a series of cases over the past decade, the Court has specifically referenced the legal relevance of adolescents’ reduced culpability, compromised legal decision making, and greater amenability to rehabilitation relative to adults. According to the Court,…
From the abstract: “A monumental shift in juvenile justice is underway, inspired by the wide recognition that incarceration is not the solution to youth crime. In its place, “electronic monitoring” has gained widespread support as a new form of judicial control over youth offenders. Supporters herald it as “jail-to-go”: a cost-efficient alternative to incarceration that…
On October 2, 2015 the DOJ filed a Statement of Interest in a federal lawsuit on behalf of two students who were seized and handcuffed by a school resource officer (SRO), alleging violations under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The DOJ asserted that the Sheriff’s…
On July 31, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice released its investigation findings into the St. Louis County Family Court, finding due process and equal protection violations. The findings include right to counsel violations by denying constitutionally adequate defense representation, privilege against self-incrimination violations by requiring a child to admit to allegations for diversion, inadequate…
