Children and the Law Posts
Minnesota School District Settles Free Speech Lawsuit
The Star Tribune recently reported that the Edina school board has settled a lawsuit filed against the school district by five high school students and their parents. The suit alleged the school district violated the students’ First Amendment rights by refusing to sponsor and later disbanding their Young Conservatives Club.
California Supreme Court: Law Barring Direct File of Juveniles Is Retroactive
The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a recent ballot initiative aimed at preventing the transfer of juveniles into the adult justice system could be applied retroactively to pending court cases.
Revisit teen sentences
New York will no longer treat many 16- and 17-year old offenders as adults.
Experts applaud decision to close Lincoln Hills and form other teen prisons
Closing a Wisconsin teen prison is a decision that’s being applauded by some who say closing Lincoln Hills may help teens. But others warn it’s just the first stop to fixing a broken path in the criminal justice system.
Project Spotlight: Restatement of the Law, Children and the Law
The law regulating children, and their relationships with family and the state, has grown complex. We now grapple with creating a cohesive understanding of the law that balances children’s rights against parental authority and the state’s commitment to support child wellbeing. That is the purpose of this project.
Finality and the Capital/Non-Capital Punishment Divide
This piece examines the role that concerns about finality have played in both capital cases and juvenile life-without-parole sentencing cases.
Louisiana’s public defenders face financial burden with new juvenile prisoner law
A state law that went into effect this year makes juveniles given life sentences eligible for parole after serving 25 years and meeting certain educational requirements. In extreme cases however, district attorneys can block access parole during a new sentencing hearing if the juvenile lifer is considered the “worst of the worst” and unable to be rehabilitated.
Should juvenile court include 18-year-olds?
The Northwestern District Attorney is working to reform juvenile court in Massachusetts by lobbying the State House to include 18-year-olds in its system.
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review of Indian Child Welfare Act
In the case, S.S. v Colorado River Indian Tribes, the U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a petition for certiorari filed by the Goldwater Institute.
The petition alleges the Indian Child Welfare Act, a federal law that established standards for the placement of Native American children in foster and adoptive homes, is unconstitutional.
More States Need to Halt Prosecution of Youth as Adults
Several other states have introduced reforms aimed at correcting longstanding overreliance on punitive, criminal sanctions for young people. Recently, New York and North Carolina used their budget processes to expand the age bounds of their juvenile justice systems to ensure that 16- and 17-year-old youth can no longer be automatically placed in adult courtrooms.