Kids & The Juvenile Court

Juvenile Justice: Law, Policy and Opportunities to Reform Law Review SymposiumOctober 11, 2013Kimberly P. Jordan

Kids in Juvenile Court

• Stats• History of Juvenile Court• Gault – 1st Game Changer

Roper, Graham, Miller

• 8th Amendment• Excessive bail shall not be required,

nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted

• Proportionality

Youth Matters!

Roper v. Simmons, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (2005)

• today our society views juveniles….as “categorically less culpable than the average criminal”

• Not “the worst of the worst”

•As any parent knows….

•Vulnerability

•Personality

Adolescent Development by Dr. Davis

Graham v. Florida,130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010)

• “developments in psychology and brain science continue to show fundamental differences between juvenile and adult minds”

a juvenile offender who did not kill or intend to kill has a twice diminished moral culpability

Progeny of Graham

• No Retributive Justice for Juveniles?• More Treatment, Less Punishment?• No LWP in Our Future?

• Challenges for States• Retroactivity• New Sentencing

Miller v. Alabama, 132. S.Ct. 2455 (2012)

• Roper and Graham establish that children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes

Brain Development by Dr. Davis

JDB v. North Carolina,131 S.Ct. 2394 (2011)

• Kids under arrest

• “a reasonable child subject to police questioning will sometimes feel pressured to submit when a reasonable adult would feel free to go”

• Child’s age “more than a chronological fact”

Going Forward

• Non Serious Offender

• Keep Status Offenders out of Court

• More Use of Diversionary Programs for Misdemeanors

• Implement Behavioral Supports in Schools to Reduce School Based Referrals

Serious Offenders

Individualized Sentencing

Improved conditions of confinement

Reduce harsh sentences

Going Forward

• All Juvenile Offenders

• No Waiver of Counsel• Improve Interrogation Rules for Juveniles• Improve Collaboration Across Systems• Developmental Sentencing

Questions?