Law Commons^™

Unaccompanied Children And The Need For Legal Representation In Immigration Proceedings, Sejal Singh

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

An unaccompanied child is defined as someone who enters the United States under the age of eighteen, without lawful status, and without an accompanying parent or legal guardian. Despite the term’s implication, many children do not enter the country alone but are either separated from their family members at the border or left by smugglers or other migrants near the border. The number of unaccompanied minors plunged in early 2020 due to border closures and restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic; however, a recent surge has led to a strain on government resources and a backlog of cases in immigration …

Put The Juvenile Back In Juvenile Court, Erin Fitzgerald

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contextual Determinants Of Re-Reporting For Families Receiving Alternative Response: A Survival Analysis In A Midwestern State, Jianchao Lai, Michelle Graef, Todd Franke, Toby Burnham

Faculty Publications of the Center on Children, Families, and the Law

Differential response (DR) has been widely adopted in over 30 states to address shortcomings of the traditional approach to child maltreatment reports in complex family and case circumstances. However, despite continued evaluation efforts, evidence of the effectiveness of DR remains inconclusive. The current study aims to assess the impact of a DR program and potential predictors, including service match and number of family case workers, on maltreatment re-reports in a Midwestern state. The study utilized a randomized control trial and assigned eligible families to either the Alternative Response (AR) track or Traditional Response (TR) track. The enrollment was implemented in …

Texas Juvenile Justice: The Need For A “Second Look” At Juvenile Prison Sentences, Kyle Jenkins

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Impact Of The Age Of Criminal Majority: Decomposing Multiple Treatments In A Regression Discontinuity Framework, Michael Mueller-Smith, Benjamin David Pyle, Caroline Walker

Faculty Scholarship

This paper studies the impact of adult prosecution on recidivism and employment trajectories for adolescent, first-time felony defendants. We use extensive linked Criminal Justice Administrative Record System and socio-economic data from Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit). Using the discrete age of majority rule and a regression discontinuity design, we find that adult prosecution reduces future criminal charges over 5 years by 0.48 felony cases (↓ 20%) while also worsening labor market outcomes: 0.76 fewer employers (↓ 19%) and $674 fewer earnings (↓ 21%) per year. We develop a novel econometric framework that combines standard regression discontinuity methods with predictive machine learning …

On The Fence About Immigration And Overpopulation: "Environmentalists" Challenge Dhs Policies On Nepa Basis In Whitewater Draw Natural Resource Conservation District V. Mayorkas, Maya J. Williams

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Conflict In The Courts: An Update On School Restroom Policies, Suzanne Eckes

Child and Family Law Journal

Over the past ten years, courts have been asked to weigh in on whether students’ rights are violated when school policies prohibit them from using restrooms that align with their gender identities. In the vast majority of legal cases, courts have rendered decisions favorable for the student. In December 2022, however, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a school district’s policy prohibiting transgender students from using a restroom that matched their gender identity did not violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 nor the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Eleventh Circuit’s en banc …

The Effects Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On The Future Of Our Youth, Patrick Cobb

Child and Family Law Journal

22.3 percent.¹ This is the percentage of the population of the United States under the age of 18. These three words should come to mind: growth, family, and safety. Unfortunately, just because these words come to mind, does not mean these are a reality for our youth. The Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) study explores our youth’s mental, emotional, and social well-being across a wide sample with some disturbing results.

As we de-code what exactly ACEs entails, we can learn to predict, diagnose, and ultimately prevent negative environments our youth are involved in. Prioritizing these prevention efforts can eventually lead …

It Is Time For Family Courts To Be More Aware Of Parental Mental Illness And Substance Abuse, Elaina Larson

Child and Family Law Journal

Since the COVID-19 pandemic and previous years, the mental health and substance abuse crises in Florida are growing at an unprecedented rate.¹ With substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment as a substantial roadblock, the Florida courts are reluctant to adequately address the mental health and substance abuse needs of individuals.² This issue is especially difficult in cases involving the termination of parental rights, leaving children in damaging environments with unfit parents suffering from severe mental illness and substance abuse.³ To prevent children from growing up under negative conditions and developing mental health problems as well, …

Easy Victims Of The Law: Protecting The Constitutional Rights Of Juvenile Suspects To Prevent False Confessions, Tayler Klinkbeil

Child and Family Law Journal

The inherently coercive nature of custodial interrogation is the very reason the Supreme Court handed down the famous Miranda v. Arizona decision; the court recognized the increased vulnerability that suspects under questioning are subjected to when placed in a situation designed to elicit incriminating information.¹ Legal scholars and judiciaries alike agree that the likelihood of police questioning resulting in a false admission of guilt or self-incriminating statements is disproportionately more probable if the subject of the questioning is a minor.² The constitutional protections that are afforded to juvenile suspects subjected to custodial interrogations are those set out in …

The Independent Existence: A Look At Florida's Wrongful Death Statute In The Wake Of Dobbs And Changing State Abortion Laws., Katherine Bolliger

Child and Family Law Journal

Following the Supreme Court’s overturning of the federally mandated fundamental right to abortion founded in Roe¹ and Casey,² the decision of whether a woman may terminate a pregnancy has returned to the states with the current Court’s implementation of Dobbs v. Jackson Woman’s Health.³ In Florida, the state government decided to reduce the gestational age for termination to fifteen weeks in July 2022, and further reduced the gestational age to six weeks in April 2023 provided that the Florida Supreme Court upholds the fifteen week ban.⁴ This note operates under the fifteen week standard …

Prison Housing Policies For Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender-Non-Conforming, And Intersex People: Restorative Ways To Address The Gender Binary In The United States Prison System, John G. Sims

University of Richmond Law Review

“[I]t was the end of the last quarter of 2019 where I was able to drop the lawsuit against the correctional officer who had sexually harmed me when I knew . . . that the carceral state is not the way for me to find healing . . . . I was not going to seek my transformation and restoration through this system.”

Each year, rhetoric and legislation attacking transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex individuals seemingly grows louder. Many political institutions in the United States perpetuate and enable the oppression of these individuals, one of which is the United …

Options For Youth With Disabilities: A Focus On Competitive Integrated Employment Limits, Tatyana Safronova

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

For people with disabilities, employment outcomes are discouraging. In 2021, only 19% were employed, a third of the employment rate for people without disabilities.1 Disabled individuals worked part-time because they could not find full-time work or because of a reduction in hours. 2 Fewer disabled persons had bachelor or higher degrees, and fewer worked in professional and managerial positions than people without disabilities. 3 To make it possible for disabled adults to get well-paying jobs, we must ensure that disabled youth have a solid educational foundation. That requires that more youth graduate high school; only 68.2% of students with disabilities …

Finding Utility In Unpublished Family Law Opinions, William B. Reingold, Jr.

University of St. Thomas Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Prostitution And Pornography: Reforming A Perspective, Mayce Combs

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Happiness is a subjective emotion that can quickly be twisted by the depravity of humanity’s sinful nature. Human trafficking deprives an individual’s natural right to life, liberty, and their pursuit to happiness. Of the two divisions of human trafficking, sex trafficking, especially involving children, is the most despicable and most evolved. The United States and further the state of Virginia is a crucial player in combating human trafficking. While there are currently many successful tactics state governments and nonprofit groups are utilizing in order eliminate human trafficking there are further more intense strategies the Virginia State Government should implement. One …

Mentoring Programs: An Answer To The Cultural & Social Challenge Of Juvenile Rehabilitation, Isaiah Franqui

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

The juvenile delinquency epidemic in the United States has been approached using many methods. This paper is an attempt to showcase one method that is often glanced over, but may provide the best solution yet. A new promising outlook for the overall well-being of juveniles within the criminal justice system is the formation of mentoring programs. These programs connect at-risk youth and/or current juvenile delinquents to a mentor who, in turn, can help shift the direction of their lives. They often take place within community centers throughout the day and can present themselves in a number of different methods. Through …

Conviction On Interpretation, Advocate Adaptability, And The Future Of Emojis And Emoticons As Evidence, Samantha Lyons

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

The dawning of the digital age introduced new and unique interpretive quandaries for judges and litigators alike. These quandaries include (but are not limited to) misinterpretation of pictorial slang as used in instant messaging, new or collateral meanings invented by phrases paired with specific emoticons or emojis, and the existence of emojis alone as communicative accessories.

This Note analyzes how lawyers and judges have essential free reign to treat emojis as they see fit: a prosecutor can argue, even in good faith, that the inclusion of an emoji depicting an open flame means the sender knew the heroin he sold …

From Hashtag To Hash Value: Using The Hash Value Model To Report Child Sex Abuse Material, Jessica Mcgarvie

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law

In the summer of 2021, Apple announced it would release a Child Safety Feature (CSF) aimed at reducing Child Sex Abuse Materials (CSAM) on its platform. The CSF would scan all images a user uploaded to their iCloud for CSAM, and Apple would report an account with 30 or more flagged images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Despite Apple’s good intentions, they received intense backlash, with many critics arguing the proposed CSF eroded a user’s privacy. This article explores the technology behind Apple’s CSF and compares it to similar features used by other prominent tech companies. …

Rojas Reflects On Law School During A Pandemic, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

During her sophomore year of college, Alexa Rojas was an intake intern with a children’s advocacy center outside of Joliet, Illinois. It sparked the realization that she knew she wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids who have endured abuse and trauma. In her position, Rojas served as the first point of contact for families scheduling forensic interviews with law enforcement and prosecutors. In order to lessen the impact on the victim, substantial logistical work went on behind the scenes to ensure that the child only had to tell their story once—to someone they trusted.

Legislative Update From The 94th General Assembly: Arkansas Bills Affecting Pregnant And Postpartum Mothers, Garrett Bannister

Arkansas Law Notes

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., the State of Arkansas was swift in restricting almost all abortions in the Natural State. Arkansas’s decision was met with plaudits from its supporters and reproval by its dissenters. In this unchartered legal territory, Arkansas’s 94th General Assembly—the first legislative session in the wake of Dobbs—has passed and proposed several bills that would provide pregnant and postpartum mothers and their children with medical and financial assistance. Specifically, these bills would provide pregnant and new mothers with health screenings, help high school-aged parents …

25 Is The New 18: Extending Juvenile Jurisdiction And Closing Its Exceptions, Dylan Raymond

Utah Law Review

Courts are in broad agreement that juveniles—defined as people under 18-yearsold — are less culpable than adults and thus punish them differently. Indeed, few would disagree that the adult criminal system should apply only to adults—people “fully developed and mature.” If separating adults and juveniles based on culpability is the goal, it begs a simple question: should the split happen at age 18? Some U.S. institutions imply that they believe an 18-year-old lacks the requisite maturity to assume certain responsibilities, including the House of Representatives and car rental agencies, which permit participation at 25. Looking globally, important institutions like the …

The Battle Of The Narrative In Jones V. Mississippi: Consideration Of Youth “In Name Only”, Stevie Leahy

Mercer Law Review

Juvenile sentencing within the United States is but one illustration of how the legal system reinforces the marginalization of populations that have been historically underinvested and underrepresented. Throughout the past century, the macro-narrative on sentencing has fluctuated nationally, as well as within individual states, with the reasoning used to justify decisions sliding between the conflicting lenses of rehabilitation and punishment. This has necessarily impacted the micro-narrative—the way that an individual’s story is considered and weighed (or ignored) within sentencing. There are endless factors that affect outcomes in sentencing: class, race and or ethnicity, gender, and access to counsel are just …

Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: The Development Of Strong, Stable Relationships, Mackiah Hoff

Senior Capstone Papers

The “school-to-prison pipeline” is a disturbing national trend where school policies and practices unjustly funnel children—namely children who are Black and Brown and/or have disabilities—into the Juvenile Justice system. Students of color are far more likely to be suspended, expelled, or arrested for the same kind of behavior as their white peers, and youth with disabilities are acutely affected by schools who ignore due process protections. Such students would benefit from extra supports and resources but instead face zero-tolerance policies, exclusionary discipline, and unreasonable difficulties with re-entry into school. The following research presents a review of current literature as it …

The Hyper-Incarceration Of Female Minority Juvenile Offenders Within The Juvenile And Criminal Justice Systems, Ruth C.A. Philippe

Selected Honors Theses

Young women are the fastest-growing portion of the juvenile justice system population. Girls experience risk factors at higher rates than boys, exhibit mental health issues at higher rates than boys, suffer more negative consequences from justice system involvement than system-involved boys, and are less likely to access treatment than boys. Girls are also more likely to become involved with the justice system for minor offenses such as running away or skipping school. In particular, young women of color receive unfair treatment than their counterparts. Girls of color are disadvantaged and treated differently within both the juvenile and criminal justice systems …

Kids, Cognition, And Confinement: Evaluating Claims Of Inadequate Access To Mental Health Care In Juvenile Detention Facilities, Lydia G. Mrowiec

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In the United States, almost 60,000 juveniles are incarcerated in juvenile jails and prisons every day, and, as of March 2021, at least seventy percent of juveniles in the juvenile justice system have a mental health condition. For many young adults, prison and detention centers have “become the avenue of last resort” for treatment of those mental health conditions. However, juvenile detention facilities lack the support and resources to provide adequate care, which has led to high recidivism in the juvenile population. Juveniles, and individuals on their behalf, can challenge inadequate access to mental health resources by bringing claims under …

Childist Objections, Youthful Relevance, And Evidence Reconceived, Mae C. Quinn

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Evidence rules are written by and for adults. As a result, they largely lack the vantage point of youth and are rooted in arm’s-length assumptions about the lives and legal interests of young people. Moreover, because children have been mostly treated as evidentiary afterthoughts, they have been patched into the justice system and its procedures in a piecemeal fashion. Yet, to date, there has been no comprehensive scholarly critique of evidence principles and practices for failing to meaningfully account for youth. And the evidentiary intersection of youth and race has been almost entirely overlooked in legal scholarship. This Article, in …

An Analysis Of Juvenile Gun Violence Mitigation In Columbia, South Carolina, Amelia Shook

Senior Theses

Over the past ten years, the United States has been impacted by the increasing frequency of homicides due to gun violence. Juvenile homicides via firearms are examined on a national, state, and county level by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and analyzed to showcase adjusted age and years of potential life lost due to gun violence. Data obtained through a CDC database depicts the geographic areas being examined: United States, South Carolina, and Richland County. South Carolina will be singled out and examined individually as it ranks eighth highest in the United States for gun violence. Richland …

Human Frailty, Unbreakable Victims And Asylum, Rebecca Sharpless, Kristi E. Wintermeyer

Articles

This article analyzes the asylum decisions of immigration agencies and federal appellate courts and demonstrates that the case law driven standard for persecution is out of step with the original meaning of the term, international law standards, and contemporary understanding of how human beings experience physical and mental harm. Medical and psychological evidence establishes that even trauma at the lower end of the spectrum of severity can inflict lasting and debilitating effects on people's health. Yet over the last three decades, virtually no court decisions have decreased the showing of harm needed to establish persecution. To the contrary, courts have …

Sticky Situations: Understanding The Law And Life, Krystal Banks

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Law and life go hand in hand. Understanding the law and how it connects to life can be an effective tool in teaching youth and adults the value of making good decisions when it comes to life and the law. Sticky Situations places real-world situations in the context of learning how to apply the law and effectively respond to life's sticky situations.

Inadmissibility: Solving Questionable Consent To Juvenile Interrogations, Wilson Baer

Brooklyn Law Review

Around the country, juveniles are brought in by police officers for the purpose of interrogations. Juveniles have the same constitutionally mandated protections as adults do and so they are read the same Miranda rights as adults are (or alternatively a version tailored specifically for juveniles). However, it is generally understood that, due to ongoing brain development, juveniles merit increased protections relative to adults. Generally, the solution to the problem has been to add an advocate for the child in the interrogation room. Usually, states have accomplished this by mandating parent presence, and some have mandated attorney presence. While these individuals …