Legal Docket

We argued that the death penalty is unconstitutional as applied to 18- to 21-year-olds because they share many of the defining characteristics of youth under the age of 18 that inherently make them less culpable and more amenable to rehabilitation than adults.

We argued that Arizona's postconviction evidentiary hearing is an inappropriate prerequisite to resentencing juvenile lifers because it places the burden on the defendant to demonstrate eligibility for a resentencing hearing.

Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of a 15-year-old who was transferred to adult court without citing any specific findings of fact or evidence underpinning the transfer decision, and subsequently sentenced to 99 years in an adult prison.

We argued that Miller creates a presumption against sentencing juvenile offenders to life without parole.

Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief in the Michigan Supreme Court on behalf of Kenya Hyatt, who was sentenced to life without parole under

According to the lower court, the child victim is also the perpetrator of a sex crime against himself. 

We challenged the Ninth Circuit's decision which constrained the ability of non-profit organizations to bring pre-enforcement challenges to new regulations or administrative rules under the ripeness doctrine.

Juvenile Law Center, with co-counsel ACLU of Wisconsin and Quarles & Brady, LLP, filed a federal civil rights class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Wisconsin juvenile corrections officials and administrators of two correctional facilitates, the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls.

We argued that a 91½-year sentence, requiring at least 45 years served prior to becoming parole eligible, for nonhomicide offenses committed by a juvenile is unconstitutional under Graham because it fails to provide a “meaningful opportunity” for release.