Legal Docket

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161 - 170 of 378 resultsReset
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
U.S. Supreme Court •
Our brief urged the court to grant review in order to enforce its precedent recognizing the reduced culpability and heightened Eighth Amendment protections for youth, and declare a categorical bar on all life without parole sentences for juveniles. We argued that juvenile life without parole sentences are imposed in racially discriminatory ways that disproportionately punish Black boys.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
U.S. Supreme Court •

Karen Howell was convicted under the felony murder doctrine in Tennessee for her involvement with another juvenile and four adult co-defendants in the murder of

Youth Interrogations & Access to Counsel
Indiana Supreme Court •

D.Z., a public school student, was questioned as part of an investigation jointly undertaken by the school’s assistant principal and a police officer stationed at

Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
Pennsylvania Supreme Court •

We challenged the constitutionality of resentencing a juvenile offender to two consecutive 30-to-life terms which amount to a de facto life sentence.

Youth Tried as Adults
U.S. Supreme Court •

Juvenile Law Center, Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc., and University of Virginia Professor of Law, Brandon L. Garrett filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on behalf of Brendan Dassey, the nephew of Steven Avery whose prosecution and conviction for the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach were the central focus of the “Making A Murderer” 2016 Netflix documentary. On August 12, 2016, a federal magistrate judge granted Dassey’s petition, declaring his confession Involuntary under the “totality of circumstances” test and highlighted several aspects of Dassey’s interrogation resulting in his false confession: the investigators’ promises, assurances, and threats of negative consequences in light of Brendan’s age, his intellectual deficits, lack of experience with the police, the absence of a parent during the interrogation, and other relevant personal characteristics.

Youth Tried as Adults
Maryland Court of Appeals •

At age 17, Brian Tate pled guilty to murder. Although Brian had dropped out of high school, had a mental health diagnosis, and a history

Solitary Confinement & Harsh Conditions
United States District Court, Southern District of California •

Ms. L. and her 7-year-old daughter, S.S., arrived at a United States Port of Entry near San Diego seeking asylum due to a fear of

Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit •

We argued that mandatory life sentences imposed on children are disproportionate and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Such sentences are incompatible with the penological goals of deterrence, retribution and rehabilitation.