In 2011, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama led California lawmakers to pass legislation that would give prisoners convicted as youths a second chance. One such individual is William Palmer, who at the age of 17 held an off-duty police officer at gunpoint demanding money. The Marshall Project recently examined Palmer’s…
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In 1996, the California Division of Juvenile Justice, the state’s youth correctional system, housed over 10,000 children and young adults (ages 12 to 25), according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Today, we see a very different picture of juvenile justice in the Golden State. Thanks to several criminal justice reforms and the…
Continue reading ›The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) a non-profit law firm based in Oakland, California, helps low-income children and aims to transform the multiple public systems serving vulnerable children. The organization leads campaigns to reform education, child welfare, public health, behavioral health, juvenile justice, and workforce development. In the realm of juvenile justice, the NCYL’s…
Continue reading ›Governor Jerry Brown signed two measures over the weekend relevant to juvenile justice in California, Senate Bill 439 and Senate Bill 1391. You may remember that we have covered both pieces of legislation at length in the last year; SB 1391 we wrote about as recently as last week when it was still uncertain that…
Continue reading ›People who serve time in California correctional facilities, whether they be adult or juvenile, often learn all the wrong lessons from their cellmates. It is not uncommon for people convicted of crimes to get out of jail and go on to commit more severe offenses. Of course, learning about new ways to break the law…
Continue reading ›Teenagers are notorious for making rash decisions, some of which can greatly impact the course of their life. Young people, just like adults, often find themselves caught up in the legal system for such decisions, but with an important exception. Minors are usually tried within the juvenile criminal system. The records of which that many…
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