The Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas reversed a sex offense adjudication finding a violation of due process and the right to confrontation when a state investigator signaled to a child witness during their testimony at trial. The court stated in relevant part: “Rather than being a permissible support person, Dear, looking like Santa, interjected…
“In the period of the 1960s through 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a set of canonical, key decisions expanding the constitutional doctrines of sexual liberty and privacy, equality, and substantive due process for women and sexual and gender minorities. The Court interpreted these principles to protect contraceptive use, abortion, interracial marriage, the private consumption…
The 5th Court of Appeals in Texas reversed a trial court’s judgment based on the state’s constitutional violations of the youth’s right to confrontation and offered the following language in support. “There are specific rules in Texas related to the testimony of a child, including the provision of a support person identified as “any person whose…
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…
