Banks v. People

Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for rehearing in the Court of Appeals filed by private attorney Eric Samler, on behalf of Banks, who was convicted of first degree murder for a crime he committed at age 15 and for which he received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 40 calendar years.

The Court of Appeals determined that, under Colorado law, any juvenile convicted of first degree murder must be sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 40 calendar years. Our brief argued that this mandatory statutory sentencing scheme is unconstitutional pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which banned mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles. 

The brief also argued that the possibility of parole after 40 years does not alter the unconstitutionality of the punishment as it neither allows the court to impose an individualized sentence (as required by Miller), nor does it provide a meaningful opportunity for release (as required by Graham). Miller emphasized the importance of an individualized sentencing determination, including consideration of each defendant's upbringing and participation level in the offense, which is (unconstitutionally) precluded by any sentence that is mandatorily imposed. Pursuant to both Miller and Graham, life with the opportunity for parole only after 40 years is not a constitutional sentencing option for juveniles because children are fundamentally different from adults and categorically less deserving of the harshest forms of punishment.

In light of these facts, we argued that Banks' sentence must be vacated and his case remanded to the district court for a sentencing hearing, at which a new constitutional sentence could be imposed. 

The Colorado Court of Appeals denied the petition for rehearing. Subsequently, the case was appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. 

On June 1, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court held that Mr. Banks' mandatory life without parole sentence was unconstitutional pursuant to Miller, and that he is entitled to an individualized sentencing hearing in which either life without parole or life with parole (after 40 years) can be imposed.