Spring 2025 Resource Library Updates
The Gault Center has been regularly updating our Resource Library, where you will find up-to-date youth defense resources to enhance your practice and advocacy. Below are some notable publications from the past few months that may be of interest to youth defense advocates. Please note that some of these resources are only available to registered users; to access, please log in or register on the Gault Center’s website.
From the Gault Center:
Youth Defender Immigration Tip Sheet
On February 12, 2025, the Gault Center hosted a youth defense and immigration round table, an opportunity for youth defense advocates and immigration experts to share information and advice on how to navigate the current landscape of immigration actions against youth and families. This tip sheet compiles the advice and resources that were shared during the round table and covers key practice areas, including client interviewing, data monitoring and tracking, special considerations related to the Laken Riley Act (LRA), immigration relief options, and litigation and advocacy. Notably, the tip sheet outlines the importance of asking every single client about their immigration status at the first meeting, exercising caution when dealing with offenses listed in the LRA, and talking to clients about the risks and benefits of virtual appearances. The tip sheet offers youth defense advocates key insights and strategies to uphold the rights and dignity of all youth, especially those who are at risk of experiencing harm from immigration actions.
The Gault Center released a virtual appearance checklist to guide youth defenders through key considerations before seeking a virtual appearance of their client as a youth defense strategy. In recognition that there may be unique circumstances in which a young person may feel safer or more comfortable waiving their physical presence in court, this resource walks through the risks and benefits of proceeding virtually and offers tips to advocate for virtual accommodations that safeguard a young person’s constitutional rights. This checklist covers considerations related to client counseling, such as weighing the complexity of a proceeding against the risk of increased bias in decision-making; confidentiality, such as setting up a separate, confidential means of communication with your client during a proceeding; communication, such as talking through how the virtual appearance will work beforehand with your client; and technology, such as asking the court for permission to co-host the virtual meeting, which would enable youth defenders to adjust sound and/or stop video as needed during the proceeding. This resource may be paired with the Youth Defender Immigration Tip Sheet to ensure both client safety and the mitigation of risks associated with virtual appearances.
Caselaw Update:
People v. M.N.B, 2025 Mich. App. Lexis 1591 (Mich. Ct. App. 2025)
On February 28, 2025, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court’s denial of a racial justice expert violated a young person’s due process rights to present a defense. This case involved an altercation between two middle school students involving the use of a racial slur and other racially derogatory comments. Defense counsel sought to admit an expert affiliated with the Gault Center to testify about the social context of this fight and how the other classmate’s racially charged comments could have made the youth “feel more fearful, thereby justifying her use of force.” Clarifying the legal standard for admitting court-appointed expert testimony, the Court of Appeals explained, “It was enough for defense counsel to indicate that he wanted to call an expert from the Gault Center or an expert suggested by the Gault Center.” The Court of Appeals continued, “Testimony from an expert could have helped illustrate for the jury that [the youth’s] response to being called a racial slur was not excessive under the circumstances. Moreover, the materials presented to the trial court indicated that an expert could have been useful for contextualizing race and racism in the juvenile justice system at large, as well as in the classroom.” This case offers key language that supports the use of racial justice experts on juvenile cases to contextualize youth behavior rooted in young people’s due process rights to present a defense and offer expert testimony.
From the Field:
Felony Murder Affidavit of Patricia Coffey, Ph.D., and Odile Rodrik, M.S.
This affidavit relies on adolescent development research to conclude that felony murder should not be applied to youth, given that young people’s ongoing brain and psychosocial development goes against the very premise of felony murder. This affidavit emphasizes how felony murder perpetuates racial disparities and is contrary to adolescent development principles—namely that youth experience more difficulty controlling, regulating and coordinating their thoughts and behavior, are more vulnerable to peer influence, and are less likely to consider long-term consequences. Further, this affidavit draws attention to an incongruence between normative developmental processes and core assumptions of the felony-murder doctrine regarding a level of foresight, executive functioning and control, and resistance to peer influence that is not supported by psychological research as applied to youth. This affidavit is developed by Dr. Patricia Coffey, a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience conducting psychological evaluations of young people in the juvenile legal system, and Odile Rodrik, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology with experience conducting mental health research in prison settings and psychological court-ordered evaluations within the juvenile legal system. This affidavit, initially shared during a Summit session in October 2024, may be used by youth defenders to bring attention to key adolescent development research related to juvenile felony murder and litigate against felony murder charges as applied to youth.
Juvenile Sex Offense Registry Affidavit of Patricia Coffey, Ph.D., and Odile Rodrik, M.S.
This affidavit compiles key research on adolescent brain development and the harms of juvenile sex offense registration and concludes that young people should not be placed on sex offender registries. Specifically, this affidavit highlights research showing that registration requirements are ineffective in keeping communities safe and lowering recidivism rates, in addition to research demonstrating that registration requirements cause significant harm to young people in light of their ongoing psychosocial development. This affidavit is developed by Dr. Patricia Coffey, a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience conducting psychological evaluations of young people in the juvenile legal system, and Odile Rodrik, a Ph.D. student in clinical psychology with experience conducting mental health research in prison settings and psychological court-ordered evaluations within the juvenile legal system. This affidavit, initially shared during a Summit session in October 2024, may be used by youth defenders to litigate against juvenile sex offense registration requirements as a mechanism to bring in relevant studies and the expertise of clinical psychologists on the harms of registries.
Kids You Throw Away: New Jersey’s Indiscriminate Prosecution of Children as Adults
Human Rights Watch conducted a study on New Jersey’s waiver mechanisms, finding that the state is effectively operating a prosecutorial waiver system that is disproportionately harming Black and Latine youth, sidelining judicial oversight, and prioritizing punishment over treatment. This report offers recommendations for a wide range of system professionals to ultimately end the prosecution of children in adult court. Outlining the harms of adult prosecution on youth, this report argues that waiver systems disregard adolescent development while exacerbating childhood trauma. This report offers a helpful framework to challenge prosecutorial discretion and waiver mechanisms using adolescent development research, local data on racial disparities and differential treatment, and youth perspectives on the harms of adult prosecution.
