Recent news

Pennsylvania’s highest court recently ruled that lifetime registration of juveniles under the Pennsylvania Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is unconstitutional.

Mark Wahlberg has a major problem stemming from his days as a minor. Now 43, he is asking Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick for a pardon for assaults committed as a troubled 16 year-old in Boston. "It would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works," said Wahlberg in an interview.

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that youth are categorically less mature in their decision-making, less culpable, and more capable of change than adults. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently affirmed a ruling vacating Cameron’s transfer to adult court, finding the record factually insufficient to justify the decision. The opinion criticized the juvenile court’s order for simply reciting the transfer statute and held that juvenile courts must do the “the heavy lifting” of demonstrating their reasons for transfer if they expect their decisions to be upheld on appeal.

Today, the United States Supreme Court granted review in Toca v. Louisiana, addressing the question of whether Miller v. Alabama applies retroactively to individuals serving mandatory juvenile life without parole sentences.

On December 8, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a joint policy guidance package to inform state and local education and juvenile justice agencies of best practices to improve the quality of education in juvenile justice facilities and remind these agencies of their legal obligations to do so.

Actor and musician Mark Wahlberg recently filed an application with the Massachusetts Board of Pardons asking the state to clear an assault conviction from 1988 when he was 16 years-old. Like many others, Wahlberg’s decades-old offense is causing roadblocks in his professional and personal life. Unfortunately, many youth who enter the justice system are haunted by the poor decisions they made as teenagers.

In an important ruling recognizing the broad scope of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama (holding that mandatory juvenile life without parole sentences are unconstitutional), the South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that Miller applies retroactively to all individuals serving life without parole sentences in South Carolina for offenses they committed as juveniles.

As its name suggests, Giving Tuesday is an international philanthropic phenomenon encouraging people to give back to the individuals and organizations who make a difference in the world. This year, Juvenile Law Center is participating in the Giving Tuesday movement on Twitter and Facebook. Help us spread the word by using #GivingTuesday and tagging us on Twitter (@JuvLaw1975) and Facebook (Juvenile Law Center).

Kids For Cash, a critically acclaimed documentary produced and directed by Robert May, debuted this February and brought the notorious Luzerne county “kids-for-cash” case to audiences in theatres across the U.S. The film will be screened at the United Nations this week on the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

According to a new national scorecard released today by Juvenile Law Center, the vast majority of states are failing to protect highly sensitive information contained in juvenile court records, creating barriers to education, employment and success for American youth.

Failed Policies, Forfeited Futures: A Nationwide Scorecard on Juvenile Records, is the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of state policies that govern the confidentiality and expungement of juvenile court and law enforcement records. No state earned...