Legal Docket

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51 - 60 of 384 resultsReset
Keeping Kids in the Community

Ashley W. v. Holcomb

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit •
The brief argued that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana correctly applied Younger v. Harris in permitting this litigation to proceed. The brief further argued that the overbroad application of Younger supported by the defendants would obstruct federal courts’ historical function as protectors of constitutional and civil rights and would disproportionately affect Black and Brown children, LGBTQ+ youth, and children with disabilities.
Sex Offender Registration of Children (SORNA)

State v. D.S.

Washington Supreme Court •
Our brief argued that mandatory youth sex offender registration is punitive. Our brief emphasized that sexual recidivism rates for youth are low, that youth sex offender registration and notification laws fail to improve or enhance public safety in any way, and that such laws are associated with severe harm to youth on the registry. We further argued that youth registration requirements disproportionately impact Black youth and individuals experiencing homelessness. 
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)

People v. Poole

Michigan Supreme Court •
Our brief argued that the mandatory imposition of life without parole on an 18-year-old violates the federal and Michigan constitutions for the same reasons that the U.S. Supreme Court barred such sentences for youth under 18 in Miller v. Alabama.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)

State v. Anderson

Washington Supreme Court •
Our brief argued that racial bias infects Washington’s criminal legal system and compounds the risk that an unjust life sentence will be imposed, and that Mr. Anderson’s sentence does not serve the penological goals of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, or rehabilitation. We further emphasized that sentencing youth to life in prison ignores their capacities to make meaningful contributions to their communities in the future.
Keeping Kids in the Community

T.M. v. DeWine

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit •
The brief argued that Ohio’s policy undermines Congress’s intent to keep children with their families and disregards the advantages of kinship care. The brief further argued that Ohio’s policy disproportionately harms Black and Brown children, as they are overrepresented in the kinship foster care system, and makes already-poor families poorer, as kinship caregivers are typically poorer than licensed non-relative foster parents.
Sex Offender Registration of Children (SORNA)

State v. A.R.H.

Oregon Supreme Court •
Our brief argued that empirical research and the constitutional guarantees afforded to youth mandate a presumption against registering youth as sex offenders. We further argued that Oregon’s juvenile sex offender registration statute is unconstitutionally vague, not rationally related to a legitimate state purpose, and likely to disproportionately affect youth of color and LGBTQ youth.
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)

Malvo v. State

Maryland Court of Appeals •
Amici argued that imposing a life without parole sentence without considering the characteristics of youth is unconstitutional—whether imposed under a mandatory or discretionary sentencing scheme.
Youth Tried as Adults

People v. Stewart

Illinois Supreme Court •
Our brief argued that predicating Class X eligibility on youthful offenses ignores the constitutionally recognized developmental differences between children and adults. We further argued that the Class X Felony Statute has a disproportionate effect on Black and Brown youth, as they are transferred to adult court at disparate rates. 
Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP)

In re Williams

Washington Supreme Court •
We argued that Washington’s Persistent Offender statute violates both the Federal and Washington Constitutions by using a juvenile offense as the basis for imposing mandatory life without parole.