The California Supreme Court is considering whether a juvenile adjudication counts as a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes law. JLC filed an amicus brief with Pacific Juvenile Defender Center, Youth Law Center, National Center for Youth Law, Juvenile Division of the Los Angeles Public Defender and Alternate Public Defender, arguing that using delinquency adjudications to enhance an adult criminal sentence violates U.S. Supreme Court precedent as well as California’s longstanding commitment to maintaining a separate juvenile justice system. JLC’s brief, co-authored with California attorneys Jonathan Laba and Maureen Pacheco, discusses the distinctive status of the juvenile court and how the use of juvenile adjudications as strike “convictions” is both inconsistent with the purpose of juvenile court and disregards California’s carefully drawn boundaries between juvenile court and adult court jurisdiction. JLC’s brief also includes research confirming the developmental differences between children and adult and how juvenile adjudications lack the reliability of adult convictions. A decision in the case is expected later this year.