Follow the latest news and information relevant to juvenile delinquency issues through JDN's Hot Topics page. Learn more about Roper v. Simmons, recent Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) studies, as well as information specific to Massachusetts.

• Adolescent Brain Development
• Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
• MA Race & Gender Profiling Study
• OJJDP's Access to Counsel
• OJJDP's Juveniles in Corrections
• Overuse of Detention
• Roper v. Simmons (Juvenile Death Penalty)
• Yarborough v. Alvarado (Miranda)
• Youth Unlawfully Held Without Bail
  

Secrets of the Teen Brain (TIME Magazine)

Teenage Brain: A Work in Progress (National Institute of Mental Health)

Scientific American Mind Magazine

Inside the Teenage Brain (Frontline, PBS)


If you are interested in learning more about Adolescent Brain Development email Liz Murdock, Program Associate.


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Roper v. Simmons
Death Penalty Unconstitutional for Juveniles Under 18!

Download JDN's Fact Sheet on Roper v. Simmons and ways to incorporate it into your practice.

Roper v. Simmons, 125 S.Ct. 1183 (2005) – On March 1, 2005, the United States Supreme Court held that the death penalty is unconstitutional, under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, when it is applied to those under the age of 18.  The Court concluded that there was objective evidence to support a finding of a national consensus against the juvenile death penalty. The significance of this decision to our practice is the Court’s realization that juveniles are developmentally different from adults and cannot be classified among those deserving of capital punishment. "The reality that juveniles still struggle to define their identity means it is less supportable to conclude that even a heinous crime committed by a juvenile is evidence of irretrievably depraved character," the Court wrote.  The Court cited to neurological and developmental research on how juveniles (under age 18) are different from adults in 3 significant ways:

1)   Juveniles possess a lack of maturity and underdeveloped sense of responsibility;

2)    Juveniles are more vulnerable and susceptible to negative      influences and outside (peer) pressure; and

3)   Juveniles possess an underdeveloped character without fixed personality traits.

The following articles and amicus briefs were either cited in the opinion or are relevant to the issue. They can be downloaded by clicking on the links.

·         Steinberg & Scott, Less Guilty by Reason of Adolescence: Developmental Immaturity, Diminished Responsibility, and the Juvenile Death Penalty, 58 Am. Psychologist 1009, 1014 (2003)

·         Scott & Grisso, The Evolution of Adolescence: A Developmental Perspective on Juvenile Justice Reform, 88 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 137, 174 (1997)

·         Brief of the American Medical Association et al., as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondent

·         American Bar Association as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondent

Access to Counsel, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

In every state in the country, minorities are over-represented at each stage of the juvenile justice system.  What should be a vestige of the past is not.  In Massachusetts, children of color represent just 28 percent of the youth population.  Yet minorities comprise 56 percent of those committed to DYS, 62 percent of those excluded from school, 73 percent of those charged as adults in juvenile court, and an alarming 77 percent of those confined to secure residential facilities.

This disproportionate minority contact endangers the foundation of freedom and equality not only among youth, but among all people.  It is a problem that requires immediate attention from all stakeholders in the justice system.  Improving the quality of legal advocacy is one proven strategy for reducing minority over-representation; this fact helped motivate YAP to create the Juvenile Defense Network, which is helping to improve defense services statewide.

Defense Attorney Advocacy in Reducing DMC:

Because several factors may contribute to the over-representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system, a variety of responses are warranted.  One critical component in reducing DMC is ensuring quality representation for all youth in the juvenile justice system. Competent counsel can work to guarantee that minority youth receive fair treatment once involved in the system, while also helping them to access the necessary and appropriate services to avoid future contact with the justice system.  Quality representation will help juveniles gain a better understanding of the court system and experience the court process as fair.  Adequately trained and supported defense attorneys will also have knowledge of community based programs as an alternative to detention and commitment at the dispositional stage  and at probation surrenders.

"For...drug offenses, the incarceration rate for Black youth is 48 times the rate for White youth, and the incarceration rate for Latino youth is 13 times the rate for White youth."              -Children's Defense Fund