Gender Justice
“In the Supreme Court’s recent United States v. Skrmetti (2025) decision, Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised the novel question: Does the United States have a long-standing history of de jure discrimination against transgender people, perpetrated by state actors through the force of law? This Essay provides the beginnings of an answer to Justice Barrett’s inquiry, demonstrating that throughout the…
This report, by The Sentencing Project, examines the changes in involvement of women and girls in the criminal and juvenile legal system over the past quarter century. The report includes data examining the rise of women and girls’ incarceration in jails, state and federal prisons, residential placement centers, as well as women under the control of the U.S. Corrections systems through probation or parole., This…
This report from Vera Institute for Justice provides examples of reforms from various states that are working to reduce the incarceration of girls in detention and long-term placement. “Over the last decade, as a direct result of focused efforts by youth advocates and a growing body of research on developmentally appropriate practices, many states have…
This resource from Lambda Legal and the American Bar Association Children’s Rights Litigation Committee gives attorneys an overview on how to approach client interviewing and relationship building in a respectful and trauma-informed way. The page discusses the importance of identity for young people’s well being and on their legal cases. It also reviews basic interview…
From the abstract: “Hundreds of thousands of children are brought under the jurisdiction of delinquency courts every year in the United States. Despite the reality that most children engage in delinquent behavior during their adolescence, poor children, children of color, children with disabilities, and children who identify as LGBTQIA+ comprise a disproportionate number of those who become delinquency system-involved. These disparities exist…
From the abstract: “People who require gynecological and obstetric care and who are detained by U.S. federal immigration authorities face unique challenges. This article examines how the current legal and administrative landscape fails to hold those responsible for providing healthcare accountable, effectively blocking access to gynecological care, and, assuming no immediate abolition of immigrant detention…
From the executive summary: “This report offers recommendations for researchers, policymakers, diversion programs, and community organizations focused on diverting Black women, girls, trans and gender nonconforming people from criminal punishment systems. Our recommendations are based on an assessment of diversion programs through a Black feminist lens, which starts from the standpoint of the women and…
This research report by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund provides an in-depth overview of the “At-Risk Youth Program” created by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Pasco County sheriff’s office relied on a “rudimentary, person-based predictive policing system” based on inherently biased criteria to identify young people who were “destined to…
From the introduction: “In this chapter, I consider the reciprocal effect of Black girls living within spaces and environments influenced by structural racism who are subjected to abuse at higher rates. I argue that there is a uniquely gendered and raced pipeline for these girls that warrants closer inspection. Here, I describe the pipeline that…
Abstract: “This article demonstrates how advocates can leverage empirical literature regarding adultification bias to craft doctrinal interventions that recognize and remedy the disproportionately harsh treatment of Black youth in the juvenile and adult criminal legal system. Through case examples, all of which I litigated in the Civil Rights Clinic at Seattle University School of Law, I demonstrate how adultification…
From the introduction: “Imagine you’re a student with a disability that impacts how you interact with others and process situations. In an instant, that disability may be criminalized, and you could find yourself thrust into a juvenile justice system that offers little support and few education resources. This scenario is all too common. Thousands of…
This expert report analyzes the presence of racial bias in a police encounter with Black teenage girls in Colorado. The report utilizes research on implicit racial bias, stereotype threat, adultification, and policing as trauma in its analysis of the facts of the case.
From the introduction: “This Essay centers disability as a lens for analysis in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. This Essay discusses the ways in which disability mediates interactions with law enforcement and how Fourth Amendment doctrine renders disabled people vulnerable to police intrusions and police violence. More specifically, this Essay critiques the Terry doctrine, consensual encounters, consent…
From the introduction: “One of our goals in producing this report is to inform school administrators, board members, and parent and student stakeholders, giving details about which groups of students are disproportionately arrested and about the gaps that exist in data reporting. We also want to provide guidance on how to address these issues. We…
