Gault@60 – The Gault Center

Michigan Passes Legislation Establishing a Statewide Youth Defense System

On July 24, 2026, the Governor of Michigan signed into law landmark legislation to ensure that all youth in the state have access to qualified youth defense counsel. This law gives the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission the authority to establish a statewide youth defense system, which will include youth defense standards, oversight, quality improvement, and support…

More Than a Name: The Gault Center and the Future of Youth Defense

The Gault Center’s Executive Director Mary Ann Scali joined Executive Director John A. Tuell from the National Resource Center for the Transformation of Youth Justice in their podcast, “Youth Justice Transformation in Action.” Mary Ann shared the Gault Center’s vision for the 60th Anniversary of the In re Gault decision, what it means to be…

The Role of Youth Defenders in Abolition

HyeJi Kim, at the Gault Center, wrote an essay on the critical role of youth defenders in building toward an interdependent future, where all children and youth are free to thrive. This essay is an ode to the youth defense community and offers a widened lens of how our work can fit into a broader…