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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Delinquent “Toddler”, Merril Sobie
The Delinquent “Toddler”, Merril Sobie
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Twenty-first century juvenile justice jurisprudence has focused on the criminal responsibility of adolescents, including, notably, the interface between psychological and neurological development and social accountability. The focus has led to a growing awareness that teenagers should not be equated with or held as accountable as adults. For example, several states, including Connecticut, Illinois, and Mississippi, have raised the age of criminal responsibility from 16 or 17 to 18, with a corresponding expansion of juvenile court jurisdiction. Of potentially greater significance, the principle of diminished criminal responsibility has gained credibility. Witness, for example, the US Supreme Court holding that capital punishment …
Nature And Nurture: Revisiting The Infant Adoption Process, Barbara L. Atwell
Nature And Nurture: Revisiting The Infant Adoption Process, Barbara L. Atwell
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Adopted children constitute approximately two percent of the United States' childhood population, but are disproportionately represented in mental health settings, where they make up an estimated four to fifteen percent of the population. Science suggests that for those adopted at birth, this discrepancy may be due in part to their abrupt removal from the biological parents. We are now beginning to understand the importance of the bonding that takes place in utero and the infant's awareness at birth. This article suggests three changes to the infant adoption process to align it with scientific knowledge. First, all adults involved in the …