Adolescent Development
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,…
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…
On March 13, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a lawsuit challenging the deprivation of children’s right to meaningful representation in the Cordele Judicial Circuit of Georgia. In upholding the constitutional necessity of youth defense specialization, the DOJ asserted, “The right to counsel means more than just a lawyer…
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth issued Trial Defense Guidelines for representing youth facing a possible life sentence. “The objective of these guidelines is to set forth a national standard of practice to ensure zealous, constitutionally effective representation for all juveniles facing a possible life sentence (“juvenile life”) consistent with the United States…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Gwenyth Campbell Rost, Ph.D., a speech-language pathologist, describes the impacts of shackling and the use of physical restraints on young people with communication and language disabilities who are involved in the juvenile legal system. The affidavit highlights how shackling and restraining youth impedes their ability to communicate and remember information…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Robert Bidwell, a physician who is board certified in pediatric and adolescent medicine and licensed in Hawaii, underscores the harm of indiscriminately shackling young people in the juvenile legal system. Dr. Bidwell highlights the high proportion of young people in the juvenile legal system who have experienced trauma and exhibit…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Marty Beyer, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist licensed in D.C., Virginia and Washington, highlights the negative impacts of shackling on young people’s identity development, including their views of their own self-worth and of fairness in legal settings. Further, the affidavit describes how shackling re-traumatizes youth who may have previously experienced traumatic…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Gwen Wurm, a pediatrician licensed in the state of Florida, describes the impact that indiscriminate shackling has on adolescent, cognitive, and psychosocial development. The affidavit also describes the traumatizing effects of shackling on children who may have experienced abuse, neglect or other mental distress.
This expert affidavit from Dr. Donald Rosenblitt, a child psychiatrist and clinician licensed in North Carolina. Dr. Rosenblitt discusses the impact of shackling young people in juvenile court proceedings and how shackling negatively impacts a young people’s positive development, self-perception, overall health, and views of the legal system.
From the forward: “This paper raises important questions about the criminal justice system’s response to young adults. Recent advances in behavior and neuroscience research confirm that brain development continues well into a person’s 20s, meaning that young adults have more psychosocial similarities to children than to older adults. This developmental distinction should help inform the…
From the introduction: ” Recent Supreme Court cases have recognized the science underlying the common-sense notion that children are not “little adults.” Their brains function in a completely different manner than those of adults. In 2005, the Court abolished the juvenile death penalty and recognized the neuroscience underlying the claim that those under the age…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Eugene Griffin, an attorney and clinical psychologist and Director of Research for the ChildTrauma Academy, discusses the punitive and traumatic impact of indiscriminate shackling. Dr. Griffin highlights the impact of indiscriminate shackling on juvenile court proceedings, including making the court less safe, hampering a young person’s ability to effectively communicate…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Julian Ford, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, discusses the stigmatizing experience of shackling on young people and the impact it can have on their sense of self and willingness to trust adults and participate as members of their community. Furthermore,…
The Supreme Court of South Carolina held that individuals sentenced to juvenile life without parole were entitled to resentencing hearings to present evidence about youthfulness, following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Miller v. Alabama. The court stated in relevant part: “Miller is clear that it is the failure of a sentencing court to consider the…
