In New Mexico v. Antonio T., the Supreme Court of New Mexico ruled any statements elicited by a school official in the presence of a law enforcement officer may not be used against the child in a delinquency proceeding unless the child made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his statutory right to remain…
On March 31, 2011, Leflore County, Mississippi entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the United States to address the DOJ’s investigation findings into the Leflore County Juvenile Detention Center (LCJDC). The MOA outlines that LCJDC must provide young people with reasonably safe conditions of confinement, protect youth from harm, limit the use of…
On May 12, 2015, the DOJ filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi against Leflore County, Mississippi for engaging “in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Constitutional and statutory rights of youth at the Detention Center.” The complaint outlines 14th Amendment violations based on Leflore…
This article, written by Mae C. Quinn and published in the N.Y.U. Review of Law and Social Change, examines the “various ways in which youthful online actions and interactions, like pubescent urban activities from decades before, are being prohibited by emerging laws and orders.” Further the article looks at our country’s “obsession of policing puberty”,…
On February 13, 2014, the DOJ filed a Statement of Interest in a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of young people confined in the Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall, alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The DOJ reiterated that “Defendants (Contra Costa County) are required to provide special education and…
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion when it found a 16-year old youth’s consent to a warrantless blood draw was involuntary and granted his motion to suppress. The court offered the following language in support: “We hold now that, independent of § 28-1321, the Fourth Amendment requires an…
From the introduction: “This report will describe, dissect, and draw lessons from Connecticut’s striking success in juvenile justice reform for other states and communities seeking similar progress. The first section details the timeline and dimensions of change in Connecticut’s juvenile justice system over the past two decades. In 1992, Connecticut routinely locked up hundreds of…
On October 24, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint in the United States District Court, Southern District of Mississippi asserting that the City of Meridian, County of Lauderdale, and State of Mississippi are engaging in a “pattern or practice of unlawful conduct through which they routinely and systematically arrest and incarcerate children,…
On August 10, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice released a findings report regarding their investigation of Lauderdale County Youth Court, Meridian Police Department, and Mississippi Division of Youth Services. The findings included the following violations: “(1) The City of Meridian Violates the Fourth Amendment by Arresting Children Without Assessing Probable Cause; (2) Lauderdale County…
This amicus brief by Advocates for Children’s Services of Legal Aid of North Carolina, American Civil Liberties Union, The Gault Center, and others argues the suspicionless search of all female students at an alternative school is unconstitutional under the 4th Amendment where the search’s main purpose was arrest and prosecution by law enforcement. Further, the…
On March 31, 2011, the Department of Justice released the findings of their investigation into the Leflore County Juvenile Detention Center (LCJDC) in Greenwood, Mississippi. The DOJ found that “[o]ur investigation revealed systemic, egregious and dangerous abuses perpetuated by a lack of accountability and controls.” The DOJ investigation uncovered that LCJDC fails to prevent unconstitutional…
This amicus brief by Juvenile Law Center and others argues young people are different for purposes of the Miranda custody analysis and the Supreme Court should afford young people Constitutional protections in light of Supreme Court jurisprudence on interrogations and recently under the 8th Amendment as well as social science research about the particular vulnerability…
This amicus brief by South Dakota Advocacy Services, The Gault Center, and others argues the 8th Circuit’s interpretation of IDEA’s procedural safeguards are unconstutional under the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause and violate the plain language of the statute. The brief also outlines procedural protections from school exclusion for students with disabilities. As stated in…
On January 29, 2010, the Department of Justice issued a findings letter regarding an investigation of the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility (ICJF) pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997 (CIPRA), and the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, U.S.C. §14141…
On November 23, 2009, the DOJ and the Ohio Department of Youth Services entered into an amended consent decree to address the remaining conditions of confinement in the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility, following the closure of the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility. Related Actions: [Ohio] Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility: Investigation [Ohio] DOJ Complaint in U.S. v.…
On May 16, 2008, the DOJ filed a complaint against the State of Ohio in the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division for engaging in a pattern or practice of constitutional violations in juvenile facilities. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the state has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating young people’s right to…
From the introduction: “This Note will argue that children in juvenile detention have a right to an adequate education based on state constitutional guarantees of education. This right can be used to challenge the inadequacy of the current educational services provided in juvenile detention facilities. The argument will proceed in three parts. Part I will…
On May 9, 2007, the DOJ released its investigation of the Marion County, Ohio Juvenile Correctional Facility, finding that the conditions violate federal and constitutional rights of youth. Specifically, the investigation highlights violations of young people’s right to reasonable safety, right to adequate mental health care, and right to special education services. Related actions: [Ohio]…
On May 9, 2007, the DOJ released its investigation of the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility, finding that the conditions violate federal and constitutional rights of youth. Specifically, the investigation highlights violations of young people’s right to reasonable safety, right to adequate mental health care, and right to special education services. Related actions: [Ohio] Marion Juvenile…
From the introduction: “In this policy brief, we will focus more precisely on the question of who has been most affected by the growth of the corrections system, and illustrate how the impact of the decision to fund the prisons over schools has been concentrated among Americans with little education. The improved high school completion…
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…
