Juvenile Law Center briefed the issue of whether the Congress intended the Military Commissions Act to have jurisdiction over juveniles. The juveniles in question have been held at Guantanamo Bay and subject to interrogation and physical and psychological abuse.
Juvenile Law Center briefed and argued the question of the constitutionality of a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole imposed on a 17-year-old in Alabama.
Argued that the court should recognize a youth’s constitutional right to a jury trial when he faces public sex offender registration upon conviction of sex offenses under Kansas’ juvenile court statute.
Argued for a specific jury instruction addressing the susceptibility of a 16-year-old to duress because of his level of maturity and limited decision-making capacity.
Certiorari denied in case involving Miranda warnings and whether a youth’s right to a jury trial was violated by a law allowing the imposition of adult sentences on the basis of judicial fact-finding.
Texas capital sentencing statute that prevented juries from considering evidence of childhood trauma found unconstitutional in that it precluded giving consideration and effect to relevant mitigating evidence.