The landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons banned capital punishment including life without parole for juveniles as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. At the time, 12 states banned capital punishment in all cases, and 18 more prohibited it for juveniles, while 72 juveniles were on Death Row in 12 states. In 2010, the high court […]
Category: Youthful Offender
Article: High Court Weighs Life Sentence for Underage Washington Sniper
In an early case during its new term, on October 16 the U.S. Supreme Court heard an appeal by Lee Boyd Malvo of the sentence of life without possibility of parole Virginia gave him in 2004 for his role in a series of lethal sniping attacks in the nation’s capital region during the autumn of […]
Article: New State Law Will Keep Most 16- and 17-Year-Olds from Being Tried as Adults
Advancing goals advocates have sought for a dozen years, on April 10 New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a measure that will keep most, but not all, 16- and 17-year-olds from being tried as adults in state criminal courts. The so-called “Raise the Age” measure, added to the state’s 2017-2018 budget bill, will […]
Article: New York City and State Restrictions on Use of Criminal Records in Hiring
On June 29, at a signing ceremony in City Hall, New York City mayor Bill DeBlasio hailed a new City Council law, the “Fair Chance Act,” as a way to require city-based employers with four or more workers to take into account job applicants’ qualifications, rather than to screen them out early in the hiring […]
Article: Options for Dealing with a Criminal Record: Expungement and Sealing in New York
Having an arrest or criminal conviction record can hurt your future in many ways: blocking your ability to find employment, or hold certain professional licenses, to mention just a few. New York law provides a few ways to wipe out criminal records or shield them from public view. About 40 states have procedures for expunging […]
Article: When Is A Youth Still A Youth Under Criminal Law?
Franklin Reyes, an 18-year-old charged with manslaughter, is seeking youthful offender status. If granted, this would mean a lesser sentence for Reyes. Learn more about youthful offender status and how it applies to this case. The case of defendant Franklin Reyes is typical of what can happen when a young man or woman in the […]