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.
Race and the New Policing
Several observers credit nearly 25 years of declining crime rates to the “New Policing” and its emphasis on advanced statistical metrics, new forms of organizational accountability, and aggressive tactical enforcement of minor crimes.
What it Means to Be “Reckless”
ALI’s Sexual Assault project will update the Sexual Offenses provisions in Article 213 of the 1962 Model Penal Code. The project will define and grade offenses based on the act—what a person does—and the person’s culpability or mental state. In order to understand the grading of offenses in the project, one must look at the 1962 Model Penal Code, Section 2.02: General Requirements of Culpability.
The ALI Adviser is intended to inform readers about the legal topics and issues examined in many of ALI’s current projects; posts do not necessarily represent the position of the Institute taken in those projects. Posts on The ALI Adviser are written by ALI project participants, ALI members, and outside sources. Completed work is available to purchase online.