This guide is meant to help young people in New York understand the collateral consequences to juvenile court involvement and adjudications, and what they can do to overcome those consequences. Written in youth-friendly language, this guide walks through how young people should talk about their juvenile court record and the impact of their record on…
The Gault Center and Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals involving New York Police Department’s collection and storage of DNA. From the summary of argument: Amici write in support of Appellant to address the particularly harmful impact that Appellees’ DNA collection and storage practices have on children,…
New York | New York City Organization Description: The Door provides comprehensive youth development services to address the complex and varied needs of young people ages 12 to 24 throughout New York City. The Door is a youth-centered “one-stop shop” with integrated services including healthcare, mental health care, legal support, education, job training, and assistance…
The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, dismissed a juvenile delinquency petition in the furtherance of justice after consideration of the youth’s developmental disabilities, mental health issues, and childhood abuse and neglect.
The New York Court of Appeals struck a search condition on a probation order, holding that the condition is not reasonably related to the underlying offense. The court stated in relevant part: As we explained in People v Letterlough (86 NY2d 259, 655 N.E.2d 146, 631 N.Y.S.2d 105 [1996]), “[t]he overriding purpose of imposing a sentence…
“In New York State, children as young as thirteen can be processed as adults and sentenced to mandatory minimum sentences. Mandatory minimum sentences require judges to sentence the defendant to a statutorily set minimum term of imprisonment. Practitioners, judges, and researchers question the efficacy of mandatory minimum sentences, finding that they are ineffective at deterring…
From the Introduction of the report by the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law: “The paper proceeds as follows: • Part I describes current community supervision technologies, including location tracking, alcohol monitoring, and drug testing, and the reliability concerns with each. • Part II describes and compares the…
This amicus brief from over 26 juvenile justice amici, including the Gault Center, , argues 1) the spirit and text of New York’s passage of landmark Raise the Age Law rejects the attitudes that underlay the Juvenile Offender Act of 1978, 2) New York’s Raise the Age Law and its legislative history demands a youth subject to adult prosecution only in “extremely rare and exceptional cases”, 3) before courts…
Abstract: In the wake of Miller v. Alabama and its progeny, there has been a wider acceptance that juvenile’s need more protections in our judicial system. This is a result of a growing body of research stating that young people’s brains do not fully develop until the age of twenty-five. States across the country are…
From the introduction: “The incoming federal administration has promised a set of actions focused on mass deportations as well as aggressive and harsh immigration policies. If implemented, the human cost to immigrant New Yorkers will be staggering. Community-based organizations and nonprofits provide mission-driven services to hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the state. Many in…
This report from National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform offers six principles of a positive youth justice system (‘PYJS’) including: 1) Minimize contact with the juvenile justice system, 2) partner with youth and families to develop and share ownership of case plans, 3) community-based organizations should take the lead, 4) build on youth assets and…
The Center for Justice Innovation conducted an exploratory, participatory action research study of 103 youth ages 15-24 who reported carry guns in a neighborhood of Brooklyn. The research evaluates why these youth carry guns and proposing a collaborative approach to public safety. From the report: “The increase in gun violence experienced in many U.S.…
