State v. E.B., 2025 Ohio 5142 (Ohio 2025)
The Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, found that the trial court erred in failing to stay E.B.’s sentencing and failed to order the case be returned to juvenile court, where E.B. was transferred to adult court but ultimately pled guilty to offenses that would not have required mandatory transfer. Additionally, the Court of…
Read MoreIllinois SB31 & HB1823 for Equal Court Review for Youth in Care of DCFS Fact Sheet
Commonwealth v. Morales, 106 Mass. App. Ct. 270 (Mass. App. Ct. 2025)
The Appeals Court of Massachusetts affirmed a defendant’s motion to suppress involving an anonymous tip saying they saw a person who had waved a gun. The court stated in relevant part: “Here, the motion judge found that the anonymous witness’s basis of knowledge was adequately established because the witness saw the person with the firearm…
Read MoreState v. S.H.-M., 2025 Wash. App. LEXIS 2317 (Wash. Ct. App. 2025)
An appellate court in Washington reversed a trial court’s denial of a young person’s motion to suppress a firearm as a fruit of an unlawful Terry stop. This case involved misidentification by the police officers of three youth of color and the court stated in relevant part: SH-M argues that the trial court erred when…
Read MoreProtecting immigrant access to public K-12 schools: state legislation
From the Background of this issue brief by National Immigration Law Center: “This issue brief is designed for individuals or groups advocating for state legislation to protect access to a free public K-12 education for immigrant students and for immigrant students to be safe and protected while in school. The brief outlines some steps that…
Read MoreIn re K.R., 2025 Ga. App. LEXIS 532 (Ga. Ct. App. 2025)
The Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a part of the adjudication and vacated the order of disposition based on insufficient evidence. The court stated in relevant part: “As to the second count of aggravated assault, K. R. argues that there was insufficient evidence to show that the nail clippers were an object that was likely…
Read MoreRaising Race in Trial Advocacy
Fast Facts About Supporting Adolescents Five Years After COVID
This “Fast Facts” Publication from UCLA’s Center for the Developing Adolescent provides insight on how to support young people five years after the COVID-19 pandemic. From the publication: “In 2020, COVID disrupted nearly every aspect of education, work, and social connections. Students who were in the earliest years of their education when schools first closed…
Read MoreAssembly-Line Public Defense
“Each year, millions of Americans rely on public defenders to fulfill their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Despite being the linchpin of the criminal justice system, public defense remains both underfunded and understudied. This Article provides empirical analysis to contribute to a critical question: How should public defender systems be structured? Criminal justice advocates, scholars,…
Read MoreProtecting the Rights of Children and Young People in Detention: Evaluating Credibility and Effectiveness of Human Rights Monitoring Bodies
“The need to protect the rights of children and young people in detention is the subject of a recent United Nations study (Nowak 2019) and is highlighted by national and international controversies. This article examines the role of external monitoring in preventing the ill-treatment of children and young people in detention. Australia has until recently…
Read MorePeople v. Guevara, 2025 Cal. App. LEXIS 707 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025)
The First District Court of Appeal in California held that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to present mitigation evidence at a resentencing hearing. The court stated in relevant part: “The judge might also have struck the enhancement as a reasonable response to the evidence of defendant’s intellectual disability and the abuse or neglect he…
Read MoreState v. Luna, 2025 Wash. LEXIS 579 (Wa. 2025)
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…
Read MoreHeard v. City of Plainfield, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 213161 (D.N.J. 2025)
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…
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Williams v. United States, 2025 D.C. LEXIS 359 (D.C. 2025)
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals held the sentencing court erred in setting aside Appellant’s conviction under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA) where the court did not weigh Appellant’s age at the time of the offense in his favor and misapplied several other factors. The court stated in relevant part: “In amending the YRA…
Read MoreReforming Abolition
“Abolition is an elusive concept, which allows people with various political views to identify with the idea. This Article unpacks some of the conceptual features that lead to its elusiveness. This imprecision has empowered some to point out the diverse—if not inconsistent—positions that self-identified abolitionists take when articulating the contemporary abolition movement’s demands. The question…
Read MoreSample Youth Report from Iowa
This is a sample “youth report to the court” document (created by a Juvenile Court Judge in Iowa), for youth who are currently under the juvenile court jurisdiction. This report is provided to young people when they appear in court, asking if they would like the space to share pertinent information and ask questions of…
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In re I.R.M., 2025 Ohio 4900 (Ohio 2025)
The Ohio Court of Appeals, Fourth Appellate District, held that the trial court erred in accepting I.R.M.’s plea because she did not validly waive her right to counsel, proceeded to disposition without a parent, guardian or custodian present, and abused its discretion by placing I.R.M. in a facility for six months. The court stated in…
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