Resource Library
This Article will focus on the difficulties ex-juvenile offenders face when seeking expungement of their juvenile records to prevent collateral consequences.
Courtesy of Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh
Courtesy of Dr. Antoinette Kavanaugh
The Gault Ctr. (October 2023). This resource provides an overview of the constitutional and federal laws that are implicated when young people are placed in juvenile or adult facilities and includes concrete examples of common violations. This resource offers an introduction for youth defenders on how to spot federal and constitutional violations based on conditions…
This article will explore the numerous endeavors to correct the harmful impact of mass incarceration by filing petitions for clemency, parole, juvenile lifer release, and compassionate release. In each practice area, we examine the law or statute creating such relief options, review the current landscape, and analyze denials from the courts or government officials involved…
I.N. respectfully requests that this Court dismiss the above-captioned matter with prejudice pursuant to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Maine, on the grounds that the State has violated I.N.’s right to a speedy trial by failing to conduct a competency evaluation within twenty-one days of the Court’s order, as is required by…
The Court considers a question of first impression — whether a criminal defendant must be provided in-person interpreting services, rather than video remote interpreting (VRI) services, at his jury trial.
Youths incarcerated in adult correctional facilities are exposed to a variety of adverse circumstances that could diminish psychological and physical health, potentially leading to early mortality. In this cohort study of 8951 youths, the survival model suggested that being incarcerated in an adult correctional facility may be associated with an increased risk of early mortality…
Evaluations of juvenile adjudicative competence (AC) are frequently ordered, yet significant gaps remain in the field’s understanding of referred youth. Using a sample of 277 court-ordered evaluations of juvenile AC, this study provides further support for the relationship of age and intelligence with competence, but other factors remain inconsistent. In the current study, developmental immaturity…
Youth probation is the most common form of punishment for youth in the United States criminal legal system, with nearly a quarter of a million youth currently under supervision. Yet the role youth probation conditions play in the incarceration of youth has not been the focus of legal scholarship. Youth probation is a court-imposed intervention…
Much the impetus for the current debate about bias in psychological testing is based on well-documented, consistent, and substantive differences between IQ scores of Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks in the U.S.A. Various explanations are offered for these differences including the idea that IQ tests are inherently biased against Blacks, Hispanics, and possibly other ethnics groups,…
The landmark case Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the United States Supreme Court required law enforcement agencies to advise all suspects of their “Miranda warnings,” or Constitutional protections, prior to interrogation. Previous research demonstrates that the Miranda warnings in the United States are largely unregulated and highlights how inadequate translations can impact comprehensibility. The present study…
Limited Justice: An Assessment of Access to and Quality of Juvenile Defense Counsel in Kansas (2020)
This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation for Kansas youth is part of a nationwide effort to systematically review and provide information about the provision of defense counsel in delinquency proceedings. The purpose of a state assessment is to provide policymakers, legislators, defense leadership, and other stakeholders with a thorough understanding of…
The purpose of a state assessment is to provide policymakers, legislators, defense leadership, and other stakeholders with a thorough understanding of children’s access to counsel in the state, to identify structural and systemic barriers that impede effective representation of children, to analyze how fee and cost structures inhibit young people’s access to justice, to highlight…
This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation for New Hampshire’s youth is part of a nationwide effort to systematically review and provide information about the provision of defense counsel in delinquency proceedings. The purpose of a state assessment is to provide policymakers, legislators, defense leadership, and other stakeholders with a thorough understanding…
This assessment report provides an overview of Michigan’s system of juvenile defense. It examines the extent to which youth in delinquency court are provided with well-qualified and effective counsel at all critical stages and addresses systemic barriers that may impede effective representation and hamper due process and equal protection of the law. It measures structure,…
As part of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change initiative, Larson and Grisso (2011) authored a document entitled Developing Statutes for Competence to Stand Trial in Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings: A Guide for Lawmakers. This guide outlines legal components and best practice recommendations that legislators might consider when creating or revising…
Juvenile competency to stand trial has historically involved the intrinsic abilities of a juvenile to understand and appreciate the nature of the proceeding against the juvenile and the juvenile’s ability to assist in his/her defense and communicate effectively with defense counsel. The literature has not addressed the recursive systemic competency process between the juvenile, defense…
This brief highlights the United States Supreme Court’s most important language in landmark cases about young people’s rights. These quotes can be used to bolster the arguments and pleadings of juvenile defense attorneys and advocates as they defend youth caught in the legal system.
Youth facing time in both secure and non-secure facilities need vigilant advocates who can monitor the conditions of these facilities, and can either prevent the young person’s placement, limit the young person’s length of time in placement, and/or intervene on the young person’s behalf while they are at the placement. Juvenile defenders are ethically bound…
“Not once does the judge or probation officer explain how expensive it’s going to be if you plead guilty without an attorney… The probation officer that said, ‘it’s really expensive to have a lawyer,’ neglected to say ‘it’s really expensive to have a probation officer.’” – NJDC’s Legal Director, Tim Curry on children waiving the…
In a nationwide effort to improve Juvenile defense, we conduct state-specific assessments that provide comprehensive examinations of the systemic and institutional barriers that prevent #YoungPeople from receiving high-quality legal representation. Working to make sure that all children are afforded full protection of their constitutional, civil, and human rights.