Recent news

Have you ever been convicted of a crime? This question is asked on nearly every job application. The vast majority of employers use the question to decide whom to interview and, ultimately, whom to hire. But while this tiny check box tells employers very little about the candidate, depending on the response it can result in missed opportunities for countless individuals who have remained crime-free and are ready to work. The stakes are even higher for youth who haven’t yet had a chance to land their first job or start a career.

What's on our radar this week? Every Wednesday, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading.

We applaud President Obama’s leadership in eliminating solitary confinement and promoting developmentally appropriate, evidence-based policies and practices as the standard in all federal and state juvenile justice facilities.

What's on our radar this week? Every Wednesday, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading.

In a key win for individuals nationwide who are serving life without parole sentences for crimes committed as children, the United States Supreme Court today ruled 6-3 in Montgomery v. Louisiana that their 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, barring mandatory life without parole sentences for youth, applies retroactively. Today’s decision guarantees that 69-year-old Henry Montgomery, along with as many as 2,000 others serving similar mandatory life without parole sentences, will receive new sentencing hearings or be considered for parole.

The injustices exposed in Making a Murderer are not limited to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, but mirror systemic failures in jurisdictions across the country. And, as one of the lawyers who litigated the Pennsylvania "Kids for Cash" scandal, the scent of official corruption was all too familiar.

What's on our radar this week? Every Wednesday, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading.

Fifty years ago, the United States Supreme Court decided Kent v. United States and Miranda v. Arizona. Just five years ago, the Supreme Court decided J.D.B. v. North Carolina, establishing for the first time that law enforcement must account for juvenile status when carrying out the requirements of Miranda. In the coming year, we will be highlighting the lasting significance and challenges posed by each of these cases in the juvenile justice context.

What's on our radar this week? Every Wednesday, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading.

One and a half years ago, Briah was a college sophomore and about to turn 21. She was a good student and worked as a youth advocate in Youth Fostering Change, one of Juvenile Law Center's youth engagement programs. Briah was also about to become homeless when she aged out of foster care on her 21^st birthday. Would she have to quit school to get a fulltime job to pay and avoid living on the street? Today, homelessness is still a scary possibility for foster youth attending college.