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Juvenile Law

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

District of Columbia

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Law

A More Grown-Up Response To Ordinary Adolescent Behaviors: Repealing Pins Laws To Protect And Empower D.C. Youth, Mae C. Quinn, Tierra Copeland, Tatyana Hopkins, Mary Brody Jul 2022

A More Grown-Up Response To Ordinary Adolescent Behaviors: Repealing Pins Laws To Protect And Empower D.C. Youth, Mae C. Quinn, Tierra Copeland, Tatyana Hopkins, Mary Brody

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

In February 2020, the District of Columbia (“District” or “D.C.”) Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (“JJAG”), issued an important report calling for decriminalization of “status offenses.” Status offenses are alleged youthful wrongdoings that are prosecuted in the District as “Persons in Need of Supervision” cases.1 This Position Paper provides additional support for JJAG’s recommendations. It offers guidance and suggestions to help the District successfully transition away from PINS prosecutions—while also ensuring community youth feel safe, supported, and empowered in their own lives as they transition to adulthood. The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department has historically been the enforcement arm to address youth …


The Unreviewable Irredeemable Child: Why The District Of Columbia Needs Reverse Waiver, Jamie Stevens Mar 2014

The Unreviewable Irredeemable Child: Why The District Of Columbia Needs Reverse Waiver, Jamie Stevens

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

In 2005 the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that adult criminal courts prosecuted 23,000 cases involving defendants under the age of eighteen nationwide. 2 This means that those defendants faced conviction and sentencing in adult courts. Transfer of those under eighteen into adult criminal court has become the states' first line of defense in the fight against youth crime. However, recent Supreme Court decisions have cast doubt on the wisdom, and even the constitutionality of that approach. Roper v. Simmons held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the death penalty for anyone under eighteen years of age. 3 Graham v. Florida …


Understanding The Overrepresentation Of Youths With Disabilities In Juvenile Detention, Peter E. Leone Phd., Barbara A. Zaremba, Michelle S. Chapin, Curt Iseli Sep 1995

Understanding The Overrepresentation Of Youths With Disabilities In Juvenile Detention, Peter E. Leone Phd., Barbara A. Zaremba, Michelle S. Chapin, Curt Iseli

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Youths with disabling conditions are grossly overrepresented among those detained and confined in juvenile correction systems. Some of the behavior of youths with disabling conditions can be misinterpreted as dangerousness and/or as posing a risk of flight prior to a dispositional hearing. The cognitive and language abilities of some youths may contribute to their poor presentation to juvenile court intake workers and others within the juvenile justice system. This Article briefly profiles four youths with disabling conditions detained at the District of Columbia's Oak Hill Juvenile Detention Center, and discusses how behavior associated with disabling conditions (i.e., learning disabilities, emotional …


Clear And Convincing Evidence: The Standard Required To Support Pretrial Detention Of Juveniles Pursuant To D.C. Code Section 16-2310, Julia Colton-Bell, Robert J. Levant Sep 1995

Clear And Convincing Evidence: The Standard Required To Support Pretrial Detention Of Juveniles Pursuant To D.C. Code Section 16-2310, Julia Colton-Bell, Robert J. Levant

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

This Note examines the appropriate evidentiary standard for pretrial detention decisions in Juvenile Court in the District of Columbia. Currently, there is no authority mandating the standard of proof that is to be applied to the pretrial detention of juveniles. To ensure that all juveniles receive the same protections, one evidentiary standard must be applied at all pretrial detention hearings. Based upon adult and juvenile pretrial detention statutes, the case law construing those statutes, and the standard courts employ in adult civil commitment procedures, the appropriate standard is the "clear and convincing evidence" standard of proof. In order to afford …


The Right Of Children In The Juvenile Justice System To Inclusion In The Federally Mandated Child Welfare Services System, Jeanne Asherman-Jusino Sep 1995

The Right Of Children In The Juvenile Justice System To Inclusion In The Federally Mandated Child Welfare Services System, Jeanne Asherman-Jusino

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The District of Columbia has one of the highest juvenile detention rates and the longest juvenile detention stays of any jurisdiction in the country.' Almost half of the children in Oak Hill, the District's secure juvenile detention facility, have no record of violent or serious offenses. 2 The District's large scale use of detention has increased, rather than decreased, crime. By placing young children charged with minor offenses, such as shoplifting, in daily contact with habitual violent juvenile offenders, Oak Hill serves as a training school for criminal behavior.3