Razing and Rebuilding Delinquency Courts: Demolishing the Flawed Philosophical Foundation of Parens Patriae

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The Antiracism and Community Lawyering Practicum at Boston University School of Law et al., Amicus Brief, Commonwealth v. Lee

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The Antiracism and Community Lawyering Practicum at Boston University School of Law, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund submitted a brief in support of the appellant, Derek Lee, in a case before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania regarding the use of mandatory life without parole…

Race, Racial Bias, and Imputed Liability Murder

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This Article is one of the first to explore the racialized impact of the two most controversial and ubiquitous forms of what we call “imputed liability murder.” An analysis of ten years of murder prosecutions in the state of Minnesota reveals that imputed liability murder is anything but a fringe subtype of homicide: an astounding…

Brain Science and the Theory of Juvenile Mens Rea

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Kids Will be Kids: Time for a “Reasonable Child” Standard for the Proof of Objective Mens Rea Elements

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Sample Motion to Adopt Reasonable Child Standard

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Felony Murder Affidavit of Patricia Coffey, Ph.D. and Odile Rodrik, M.S.

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This affidavit relies on adolescent development research to conclude that felony murder should not be applied to youth, given that young people’s ongoing brain and psychosocial development goes against the very premise of felony murder. This affidavit emphasizes how felony murder perpetuates racial disparities and is contrary to adolescent development principles—namely that youth experience more…

Utah Toolkit for Representing Young People Charged with Sex Offenses

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From the introduction: “This project, which started in fall 2020, was initially intended to be significantly smaller than it turned out to be. Our coalition of authors intended to outline ways juvenile defenders could streamline their representation of youth charged with sex offenses. As the project gained momentum, this team of trial attorneys, social workers,…

State v. K.A.B., 475 P.3d 216 (Wash. Ct. App. 2020)

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In State v. K.A.B., the Court of Appeals of Washington held that the youth was entitled to a new capacity hearing based on defense counsel’s failure to thoroughly present a diminished capacity defense and the juvenile court’s application of an incorrect standard for capacity to commit a crime. The court offered the following language in support:  “We reverse K.A.B.’s conviction because she received ineffective assistance of counsel. We…

Reckless Juveniles

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From the Abstract: “Modern doctrine and scholarship largely take it for granted that offenders should be criminally punished for reckless acts. Yet, developments in our understanding of human behavior can shed light on how we define and attribute criminal liability, or at least force us to grapple with the categories that have existed for so…

Sample Motion Requesting Child-Centered Mens Rea Analysis

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A sample motion from Alabama requesting a child-centered mens rea analysis that recognizes the well-established differences between adolescent and adult thought processes and the effect that such differences have on an actor’s state of mind. This motion bases its argument for a child-centered mens rea on reasoning as articulated in recent United States Supreme Court…

An Eighth Amendment Analysis of Statutes Allowing or Mandating Transfer of Juvenile Offenders to Adult Criminal Court in Light of the Supreme Court’s Recent Jurisprudence Recognizing Developmental Neuroscience

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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…

Reply Brief, People v. Robinson

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In this reply brief, Chris Robinson, a young person tried as an adult in Colorado, challenges his conviction and sentence under Graham and Miller and makes a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The brief highlights in relevant part: “Because the Colorado parole process does not provide the juvenile offender with the full panoply of…

The United States Supreme Court Adopts a Reasonable Juvenile Standard in J.D.B. v. North Carolina for Purposes of the Miranda Custody Analysis: Can a More Reasoned Justice System for Juveniles Be Far Behind?

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Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence: Developmental Immaturity, Diminished Responsibility, and the Juvenile Death Penalty

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From the introduction: “The authors use a developmental perspective to examine questions about the criminal culpability of juveniles and the juvenile death penalty. Under principles of criminal law, culpability is mitigated when the actor’s decision making capacity is diminished, when the criminal act was coerced, or when the act was out of character. The authors…

What’s Behind Behavior Matters: The Effects of Disabilities, Trauma and Immaturity on Juvenile Intent and Ability to Assist Counsel

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The delinquent act itself is often the primary basis for determining intention and competency of children under 18 in adult or juvenile court. But behaviors result from one or more of a diverse range of factors, each of which has different effects on decision-making. The capacity of juveniles to plan or to stop an action…