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Making the Sentencing Case: Psychological and Neuroscientific Evidence for Expanding the Age of Youthful Offenders
Brain science shows that young adults' brains are still developing, impacting their behavior. Sentencing youth as fully adult contradicts scientific evidence of continued development and potential for rehabilitation beyond age 18.
Positive and Negative Risk-Taking in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: A Citizen Science Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Adolescents' sensation-seeking desires drive both negative risks, like reckless driving, and positive risks, like helping others. This study explores how sensation seeking connects to these behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roper and Race: the Nature and Effects of Death Penalty Exclusions for Juveniles and the “Late Adolescent Class”
The Supreme Court banned the death penalty for those under 18 in 2005 due to evolving standards and scientific evidence of immaturity. This decision could extend to 18-20 year olds, which would also reduce racial bias in sentencing.
Socioeconomic Status, BMI, and Brain Development in Children
Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds face negative health and academic outcomes. This study will examine how body mass index (BMI) influences the relationship between socioeconomic status and brain development.
Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: Neural Processing of Social Feedback and Links to Social Motivation in Adolescent Girls
This study explored how adolescent brains respond to peer feedback, focusing on areas related to threat, reward, and control. Researchers found brain activation patterns differed with social avoidance and approach motivations.
Unshackled: Stories of Redemption Among Serious Youthful Offenders
The article highlights that children, even those in maximum-security prisons, have a profound capacity for rehabilitation.
What's My Age Again?: Adolescent Development and the Case for Expanding Original Juvenile Court Jurisdiction and Investing in Alternatives for Emerging Adults Involved in Maine's Justice System
Maine’s juvenile justice system is falling behind, harming young adults and communities. The state needs an individualized, science-based approach to better support youth and improve public safety.
The Juvenile Restoration Act Year One — October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022
The Juvenile Restoration Act allows sentence reductions for individuals incarcerated as minors for over 20 years. In its first year, courts safely released most eligible individuals, often with re-entry support.
Accumbofrontal Tract Integrity Is Related to Early Life Adversity and Feedback Learning
Early life adversity is associated with reduced white matter integrity in the brain's reward system. This brain alteration is also linked to poorer decision-making processes.
Brain and Behavior Correlates of Risk Taking in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are common in children and adolescents, leading to significant personal and economic costs. This article explores how risk-taking behavior can help understand and treat these conditions.
Amicus Brief of Pacific Juvenile Defender Center and Youth Law Center on Behalf of Appellant Luis Angel Gutierrez
The brief argues that an LWOP sentence for a juvenile offender was improper. It asserts that the court failed to consider the offender's youth and potential for rehabilitation.
BRIEF FOR AMICI CURIAE BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE AT NYU SCHOOL OF LAW, ET. AL IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT
This brief argues that the "three strikes" rule, requiring upfront court fees from incarcerated people with prior dismissed lawsuits, unfairly blocks poor prisoners from court access.
State v. Haag
The Washington Supreme Court vacated a 46-year sentence for a murder committed at age 17. The court found the resentencing judge failed to properly consider youth and that the term was an unconstitutional de facto life sentence.
United States v. Grant
The court upheld a reduced 60-year sentence for Corey Grant, who as a juvenile received a mandatory life sentence. This followed the Supreme Court ruling that mandatory life without parole for juveniles is unconstitutional.
Brief of Amicus Curiae Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in Support of Appellee State of Ohio
The brief argues the General Assembly's decision to transfer certain juveniles to adult court without an amenability hearing is constitutional. It asserts juveniles have no right to such a hearing, and the claim was not properly raised.