Oregon High Court OKs 112-Year Sentence for School Shooter
The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 112-year sentence of a young man who shot 26 of his high school classmates after killing his parents in 1998.
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Juvenile Sex Offenders Get Registry Reprieve in NJ
Attuned to the risk that labeling a juvenile forever as a sex offender will stunt his rehabilitation, the New Jersey Supreme Court was unanimous Tuesday in curbing the landmark registry legislation known as Megan’s Law.
Read moreJuvenile Sentences
A federal judge in Michigan struck down a state law that took away good-behavior credits for inmates who were sentenced to life in prison as minors, before being resentenced to lengthy terms after the U.S. Supreme Court found life without parole unconstitutional for juveniles.
Read moreWisconsin Settles Suit Over Suicide Attempt at Juvie
Wisconsin approved an $18.9 million settlement Tuesday for the teen who suffered severe brain damage after trying to kill herself in a juvenile prison cell.
Read moreNRA Florida Suit Revisits Age-of-Majority Question
A federal lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association claims that Florida’s new law raising the legal age to purchase firearms imposes an “unequal and impermissible burden” on the constitutional rights of young adults.
Read moreReport Finds Racial Disparity in Youth Confinement
Black boys make up nearly half of all male juveniles in confinement despite the fact that less than 14 percent of minors in the U.S. are black, according to a report from a Massachusetts-based prison reform advocacy group.
Read moreChild Abuse
Three disabled Kern County, California, teens claim in a federal class action that juvenile-detention staffers abused them with pepper spray, prolonged solitary confinement, excessive force, painful prone restraint holds and denial of education.
Read moreKentucky Shooting Suspect Ordered Held in Juvenile Court
Authorities are gathering evidence for a grand jury, hoping to discover why the 15-year-old suspect fired into a crowd of his classmates.
Read moreOhio Teen Shot and Killed in Courthouse Clash
A 16-year-old was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy Wednesday after a fight broke out involving the boy’s family at the Franklin County Courthouse in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
Read moreJudge Says US Can’t Block Immigrant Teens’ Access to Abortion
A federal judge rejected the government’s argument Monday that it can delay, or prevent entirely, abortions for two unaccompanied immigrant teenagers in federal custody.
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Iowa Officials Accused of Mistreating Juveniles at Boys’ Home
Three juveniles claim in court that Iowa’s Boys State Training School violates the rights of offenders with mental health problems by providing grossly inadequate health care and subjecting them to physical restraints and solitary confinement.
Read moreUS Must Hold Hearings for Detained Immigrant Teenagers
The federal government can’t ship immigrant minors suspected of gang involvement to far-off detention centers without giving them due process hearings first, a federal judge ruled this week.
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Teen Arraigned on Suspicion of Starting Oregon Wildfire
Prosecutors in Oregon on Thursday arraigned a 15-year-old boy accused of tossing firecrackers from a cliff on a popular hiking trail, starting a wildfire that devastated one of the nation’s scenic jewels.
Read moreFox May Be Liable for ‘Empire’ Filming at Illinois Juvie Center
A federal judge ruled Monday that Fox must face claims it was unjustly enriched by striking a deal with county officials to use a Chicago juvenile detention center as a set for the hit show “Empire,” forcing kids to sit in chairs for days at a time.
Read moreCalifornia Justice Reforms Give Hope to Youthful Offenders
Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a criminal justice reform package focused on reducing juvenile sentences and recidivism in California, drawing applause from civil rights groups and celebrity activists.
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Juvie Inmates Say They Were Forced to Fight for Guards’ Amusement
Three Ohio men and one boy claim in a lawsuit against Cuyahoga County that they were repeatedly forced to participate in organized fights during their incarceration at a juvenile detention facility for the entertainment of guards.
Read moreTried as an Adult
California’s Second Appellate District on Monday tossed the second-degree murder conviction of a 17-year-old who was charged as an adult, finding a voter-approved change in the law entitles all juvenile offenders whose convictions are not final to a determination of the appropriateness of being tried as an adult.
Read moreJudge Sets Reform Timeline for Wisconsin Juvenile System
Two weeks after condemning the harsh treatment of juveniles in Wisconsin detention centers — “Ted Kaczynski has less restrictive solitary confinement than youth at Lincoln Hills,” he had said — a federal judge finalized a series of reforms that will begin taking effect on July 21.
Read moreFederal Judge Orders Reforms in Wisconsin Juvie System
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and civil-rights attorneys to work together to agree on changes to the state’s juvenile prison system, which has been the target of multiple lawsuits this year.
Read moreJustices Seek to Avoid ‘Quagmire’ in Juvenile Felony Sentencing
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider whether the life sentence without parole of a Virginia man who raped a 62-year-old woman when he was a teenager conforms to a subsequent ruling on the reasonable sentencing of juvenile offenders.
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