Adolescents, like adults, are disciplined for certain offenses with the hope that said offender will not do it again. It starts at a young age, a child does something wrong—a parent determines the appropriate punishment to mete out. Life is about standards and rules, if one falls short or breaks a rule, punishment follows suit.…
Continue reading ›In the United States, if you feel that your health and safety is in jeopardy by another person, you can petition the courts for a restraining order. People who have a restraining order against them, risk jail time if they contact or come within a certain distance of the complainant. While every state varies with…
Continue reading ›Words of inspiration can enable people to have the courage to be bold and accomplish great things. Unfortunately, what people say can also have the power to cause great harm, especially to those who are struggling. The cliché saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” does not always…
Continue reading ›In certain states, the process of “automatic transfer” or “direct file” is a common occurrence in the juvenile court system. Automatic transfer mandates that minors over a certain age be charged as an adult, if their crimes are considered to be severe, typically for violent offenses. On the other hand, in 15 states prosecutors have…
Continue reading ›This past Tuesday, May 4, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a measure that improves the quality and integrity of our juvenile criminal justice system by banning the use of solitary confinement in the County’s juvenile detention facilities.The motion was passed with unanimous support. The interim Chief of Probation, Cal Remington, called the…
Continue reading ›Last week, representatives from different parts of the Los Angeles County juvenile justice system met to discuss the system’s problems and potential solutions. Lawyers, former juvenile offenders who had been through the system, advocates, and policy analysts in attendance acknowledged the status quo was not working. The representatives voted to commission a report on improving…
Continue reading ›As part of a larger effort to reduce the incarcerated populations in overcrowded prisons, Governor Jerry Brown proposed a bill last November that would make it more difficult to charge juveniles as adults in criminal cases. The initiative was initially blocked by a judge in Sacramento, but the California Supreme Court said they would hear…
Continue reading ›Los Angeles students could soon get kicked out of school for sexting. Assemblyman Ed Chau introduced a Sexting bill (Assembly Bill 2536) Feb. 19, 2016 following at least 20 other states with anti-sexting laws. This bill is more specific than existing cyberbullying and child pornography laws in California. Assembly Bill 2536 would give schools the…
Continue reading ›The United States Supreme Court continues to recognize the inherent differences between juvenile and adult criminal offenders, acknowledging that the former are less psychologically and socially developed—and thus less legally culpable—than the latter. At the end of last month, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the matter of Montgomery v. Louisiana, a case with…
Continue reading ›Sexual harassment and victimization is not limited to any particular job, field, or profession. It is not always addressed, adjudicated and remedied in a court of law. Recently, the prominent science journal Nature published a story about the testimony of a female scientific researcher who was harassed by a senior male colleague. Unfortunately, her story…
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