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Incorrigible Students: A Criminal Oxymoron?, Shannon Lewry

Notre Dame Law Review

The Note proceeds in two Parts. The remainder of the Introduction presents a closed door: the Supreme Court’s hesitancy, to date, to find juvenile- life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. After exploring the contours of the closed Door, the Introduction turns to an open window: education law. This, I argue, may be wielded to attack the lawfulness of juvenile-life-without-parole sentences on wholly nonconstitutional grounds. The Introduction concludes with remarks regarding this Note’s relevance and timeliness. Part I tracks the Note’s central argument, premise by premise, that state compulsory education laws and juvenilelife- without-parole sentences are wholly incompatible. Part II …