The Case for Raising the Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction has Only Grown Stronger

This op-ed from  retired Massachusetts Judge Jay Blitzman advocates for expanding juvenile court jurisdiction in Massachusetts to include 18 to 21 olds. The article draws on developmental neuroscience research from the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital, recidivism data, and information about Massachusetts’s current juvenile court structure and capacity to take on additional youth between 18 and 20 years old. Research cited from the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior finds no meaningful cognitive differences between 17 and 18 year olds and concludes that brain development continues into the mid-twenties. This research was cited by Commonwealth v. Mattis in abolishing life without parole for people under 21 years of age in Massachusetts.