Law Commons^™

The Supreme Court Rolls Back The Clock For Juvenile Justice, Jack Lyons

GGU Law Review Blog

For decades, the Supreme Court has protected juveniles from harsh punishments, such as mandatory life without parole (LWOP), by acknowledging that children are different and must be sentenced accordingly. The developmental differences in children make it nearly impossible to determine that a child who commits a crime is beyond hope for rehabilitation. Jones v. Mississippi turned back the clock on juvenile justice by holding that sentencers need not find a child is “permanently incorrigible” before sentencing them to life without parole.

Remembering California’S History In Youth Corrections, Sadie Minjares Odom

GGU Law Review Blog

California Governor Gavin Newson’s 2021-22 state budget sets forth plans to permanently close the California’s Division of Juvenile Justice and transition any children in the state’s care to the counties who committed them. On September 30, 2020, California lawmakers passed SB 823, the pillar of this transition. As the closure of the state-run juvenile correctional system marks a new journey for California’s youth, the state’s gloomy history in youth corrections looms overhead.

Children In Foster Care: The Odds Are Against Them, Shawna Doughman

GGU Law Review Blog

Most child welfare reports that lead to removal of children from their homes are filed for neglect rather than abuse. Often, their parents want to take care of them, but are failing for one reason, or for many. Nonetheless, the lion’s share of the $30 billion annual budget of state and federal child welfare funding goes overwhelmingly to foster care and adoption services which remove the children from their parents, instead of to helping those families care for their own children.

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