Probation
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a probation violation related to a condition that youth must “obey all laws” based on insufficient evidence. The court stated in relevant part: “V.B. contends the State did not prove he violated the condition of his probation requiring him to obey the law because he had only been arrested…
The Supreme Court of Wyoming held that a trial court must hold a separate disposition hearing in probation revocation proceeding. The court stated in relevant part: “Although Wyoming law does not require separate hearings for the adjudication and disposition phases of a probation revocation, each phase must be conducted in accordance with such law. The…
“It is considered “good law” in Pennsylvania that prosecution can bring a violation of probation or parole (VOP) hearing for a direct violation of the conditions of parole even before the alleged violation’s substantive criminal trial takes place. Mrs. Kates’s name has since become synonymous with pretrial VOP hearings for direct violations. This Comment calls…
In October 2025, the Gault Center convened over three hundred youth defense lawyers and advocates at our annual Youth Defender Leadership Summit. Together, we practiced the cultivation of community in service of building a more just, more liberated, and more human humanity for all children and for us all. This resource captures the shared learnings…
This article focuses on the policies and practices of community supervision programs, and the impact they have on individuals with disabilities, including discriminatory practices that prevent disabled individuals from successfully completing probation or parole. From the introduction: ” This Article addresses disability discrimination in community supervision programs, a large—but frequently overlooked—component of the criminal legal…
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…
The Third District Court of Appeal in California held that the plain language of California’s state statute authorized the juvenile court to order the County to pay for a young person’s housing. The court explained in relevant part: “As evidenced by both the plain language and the history of section 900, subdivision (b), the Legislature…
The 4th District Court of Appeal in California struck a weapons probation condition and modified an association condition and offered the following language in support. “A term of probation is invalid if it: “‘(1) has no relationship to the crime of which the offender was convicted, (2) relates to conduct which is not in itself criminal, and (3) requires…
From the introduction: “Probation, parole, and other forms of post-conviction supervision are challenging for anyone, requiring strict adherence to dozens of complex rules under threat of incarceration for any slip-up. For the high number of people on supervision who have disabilities, supervision is even more challenging. Disabled people regularly face barriers to understanding their supervision…
Professor Kris Henning and Rebba Omer authored a law review article on decriminalizing normal adolescent behaviors, race, and disabilities. This article maps a way forward for all system actors in the juvenile legal system to mitigate and buffer against the harms of juvenile legal system involvement for youth with disabilities. Specifically, this article outlines youth…
