Legal Docket

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Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court •
Amici argued that mandatory sentencing that imposes harsh adult consequences on juvenile offenders without any individualized consideration of age or other mitigating circumstances contravenes the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
Pennsylvania Superior Court •
Along with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Juvenile Law Center filed a brief in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania arguing that imposing an additional six years on a juvenile lifer at resentencing is excessive where the court found credible evidence that established that the juvenile had been rehabilitated. We further argued that it is unconstitutional to impose a mandatory lifetime parole tail on all juvenile lifers being resentenced.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
U.S. Supreme Court •
The amicus brief argued that Miller and Montgomery establish a presumption against imposing life without parole sentences on juveniles and requires a finding that the juvenile is permanently incorrigible and incapable of reform.
Economic Justice
U.S. Supreme Court •
Juvenile Law Center’s brief supports Mr. Timbs' position that the U.S. Constitution’s protection against excessive fines applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government. Our brief seeks to educate the Court about how exorbitant fines and fees in the juvenile justice system affect young people.
Youth Tried as Adults
U.S. Supreme Court •
Our brief urged the court to grant review to address the constitutionality of Ohio's felony murder statute as applied to juveniles because it prescribes a mandatory 15 years to life sentence without consideration of youth.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
Iowa Supreme Court •
The brief argued that greater procedural protections—including the right to counsel—are required during parole hearings to ensure that juveniles serving life sentences are given a meaningful opportunity to obtain release as required by Graham.
Keeping Kids in the Community
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit •
Our brief argues that overruling Parsons and decertifying the class in B.K. would have a serious, adverse effect on class action impact litigation, and that it would have an especially negative impact on access to the courts and appropriate relief for system-involved children who are subjected to constitutional wrongs.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)
U.S. Supreme Court •
Our brief urged the court to grant review in order to clarify that its prior rulings extend to term-of-years sentences that are the functional equivalent of juvenile life without parole and hold that any sentence that condemns a youth to die in prison is constitutionally disproportionate regardless of whether it is formally labeled “life without parole.”
Youth Tried as Adults
Kentucky Supreme Court •
Juvenile Law Center, joined by more than a dozen advocacy organizations, filed an amicus brief in the Kentucky Supreme Court in support of Mr. Bredhold and the trial court’s decision. We argued that objective indicia of evolving standards of decency and research in neuroscience require abolition of the death penalty for individuals who were under 21 years of age at the time of their offense.
Youth Interrogations & Access to Counsel
Ohio Supreme Court •

Thirteen-year old L.G. was arrested immediately after being questioned at his school by a school official in the presence of police during a joint investigation