Summer Academy
Outlines steps that states must take to comply with the minimum requirements of the U.S. Constitution to protect the rights of youth facing deprivations of liberty.
The perspectives of young people with system experience are particularly important in efforts to strengthen and improve juvenile defense advocacy. With the state, prosecutors, victims, witnesses, law enforcement, and probation officers on the other side of the table, youth rely on their defender to hear and honor their voices and ensure they are full participants…
This document, developed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and NJDC, is a supplement to the original checklist and is focused specifically on advocating for the safety and well-being of transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex (TGNCI) young people housed in secure and non-secure facilities. TGNCI young people are vulnerable to the same harms…
The use of cash bail in the criminal legal system—as one option of conditional release—was established for the sole purpose of ensuring the accused’s presence in court. However, when the bail amount is set at a figure higher than the amount reasonably calculated to fulfill this purpose, it is deemed excessive under the Eighth Amendment.…
This tool is designed to provide guidance for managers and supervisors in juvenile defender organizations to identify, develop, and promote strategies and interventions that will heighten the level of advocacy aimed at minimizing the detention of juveniles.
Benchcard on supporting LGBTQIA+ youth involved in the juvenile court system.
Hidden Injustice represents the first effort to examine the experiences of LGBT youth in juvenile courts across the country. The report is based on information collected from 414 surveys and 65 interviews with juvenile justice professionals, including judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, probation officers, detention staff, and other juvenile justice advocates; focus groups and interviews of…
Courtesy of Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh
The Gault Ctr. (October 2023). This resource provides an overview of the constitutional and federal laws that are implicated when young people are placed in juvenile or adult facilities and includes concrete examples of common violations. This resource offers an introduction for youth defenders on how to spot federal and constitutional violations based on conditions…
This resource was created as part of the 2022 Racial Justice Training Series, co-hosted with the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative. Advocates and experts gathered each month to discuss a chapter of Prof. Kristin Henning’s Book The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth. Watch recordings of the monthly webinars and see other…
This resource is part of the Youth Defender Advocacy Program (YDAP) curriculum, a specialized trial advocacy training program for youth defenders.
