This sample motion argues for special discovery and dismissal and/or suppression based on a claim of selective prosecution in a jaywalking case. Highlighting local police data on racial disparities in jaywalking-related stops, this motion argues that police conduct had a discriminatory effect on Black youth in Cincinnati, in violation of their state and federal equal…
From the Abstract: “Interrogation techniques are influenced by the interrogator’s style and the individual being interviewed. Most law enforcement agencies use adult-centered interrogation methods, leading to suboptimal results when working with youth. The research has focused on youth offenders in the interrogation room and the choices they make, often leading to false confessions when an…
The Supreme Court of Washington found a Miranda violation based on a totality of the circumstances analysis, which the Court noted must include consideration of race and age. The Court stated in relevant part: “The United States Supreme Court has established that in determining whether a suspect is in custody under Miranda, we must “‘examine…
“This Article reconceptualizes preventive justice—the public safety paradigm that seeks to prevent harm before it occurs. Scholars have long documented how cities have advanced this paradigm through largely punitive measures, notably variants of broken windows policing, which posit that aggressive misdemeanor enforcement deters more serious crime. Yet in the aftermath of the 2020 George Floyd…
The Delaware Family Court granted a youth’s suppression motion, finding that age and race must be considered when determining whether a seizure has occurred under the Fourth Amendment. The court states in relevant part: “Children are not adults. In J.D.B. v. North Carolina, the Supreme Court decided that children should not be treated like adults for the purposes of…
CfJJ delivered written testimony to the Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion on information-sharing practices between the juvenile and criminal legal systems and federal immigration authorities. Following a review of public records requests around these practices, CfJJ found a pattern of collaboration between police, prosecutors, probation officers, and Immigration and Customs…
The Oregon Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred where it failed to instruct the jury on the “choice-of-evils” defense. The court stated in relevant part: Regarding the first assignment of error, we review a trial court’s refusal to provide a requested jury instruction for legal error. State v. Jackson, 334 Or App…
From the abstract: This Article employs the Law Review’s Discourse symposium on my book, Unreasonable: Black Lives, Police Power, and the Fourth Amendment, as a starting point to foreground and elaborate on an idea that I reference in that text: police power abolition. The Article begins by describing the central insight that motivates Unreasonable—namely, that…
“In the period of the 1960s through 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a set of canonical, key decisions expanding the constitutional doctrines of sexual liberty and privacy, equality, and substantive due process for women and sexual and gender minorities. The Court interpreted these principles to protect contraceptive use, abortion, interracial marriage, the private consumption…
The Supreme Court of Washington vacated a conviction for second-degree murder, finding that the 16-year-old defendant’s waiver of rights was invalid, considering her age, recent head trauma, and lack of experience with the police. The court stated in relevant part: “Luna challenges several evidentiary rulings and argues that the court should have applied newly enacted…
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey heard two Motions to Dismiss filed by the Plainfield Public School District, Board of Education, and others, stemming out of a lawsuit filed by fifteen-year-old I.A.’s parents after the detention, search, arrest and prosecution of I.A., by Plainfield school officials and Plainfield Police Officers. In…
Youth defenders play a critical role in safeguarding the constitutional rights of noncitizen youth during encounters with immigration officials. This tip sheet provides an overview of the rights of noncitizen youth and strategies for youth defenders to safeguard these rights and mitigate harm throughout the course of representing youth in juvenile court. This tip sheet…
From the introduction: “Although the Fourth Amendment grants the Supreme Court power over searches and seizures, it would be unrealistic to turn to the Court for help. In theory, the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule shapes future police behavior by excluding evidence from trials if the police obtained it unlawfully. However, when it comes to racial…
The Sentencing Project released a report on adolescent gun possession cases, highlighting the harms of punishment and calling for comprehensive community-based initiatives to reduce gun violence. This report offers research on the reasons why youth carry guns, ranging from peer influence to past experiences of trauma and walks through how juvenile court systems typically respond…
From the abstract: “The integration of algorithmic decision making and artificial intelligence (“AI”) into facial recognition technology poses new, unprecedented risks to privacy and individual autonomy rights, particularly in urban settings. The murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York City on December 4, 2024, provides a timely case study to examine the…
From the abstract: “The ever-expanding yet increasingly amorphous nature of criminal records is a driver of inequity in America. Criminal records are a significant barrier to community participation. They impact whether you can vote or serve on a jury, where you can live, and if you can work. And as criminal records become more easily…
