Recent news

Today is the 20th anniversary of Roper v Simmons, a groundbreaking United States Supreme Court decision that ushered in a new framework for analyzing children’s rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th Amendment. Roper banned the death penalty for youth who were convicted of murder before they turned 18.

The 2019 Teen Vogue article by Juvenile Law Center and Girls for Gender Equality titled “The U.S. Has Been Silencing Black Girls’ Voices for Decades” captured the experience of the stockade where young girls were arrested and put in harsh conditions while their parents were strapped with fines and fees just for speaking out about segregation and discrimination. We know these practices still happen today.

Today, Kansas Appleseed and Juvenile Law Center, advocacy organizations working for children in the justice and child welfare systems, released an analysis of Kansas’ juvenile fee and fine collection statewide.

Five decades of advocating for children behind bars have taught us that we must be unrelenting in protecting young people from harm and bold in imagining a better world. The horrors children face when incarcerated require us to uncover and confront abuse.

The Juvenile Law Center co-founder has spent 50 years advocating for the rights of youth in the legal system, taking on corrupt judges, changing policy and contributing to victories in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2004, as a third-year law student at Loyola Chicago I knew I wanted to fight for children’s rights but had no idea what the world had to offer. I came across a posting for the Zubrow fellowship at Juvenile Law Center.

In 2005, Riya Saha Shah started her legal career as a fellow with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, a venerated 50-year-old nonprofit litigation and advocacy group. Two decades later, she will lead the organization that gave her that start.