Fall 2019 Juvenile Justice Syllabus v PDF

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JUVENILE JUSTICE SEMINAR FALL 2019 Professor Crystal Shin Office: SL 249 Phone: (434) 243-4664 E-mail: [email protected]

Class: Wednesdays 3:40-5:40 p.m. Classroom: WB 127

Office Hours: Tuesdays 10-11:30 or by appointment. If you have a conflict during my office hours, please e-mail me to schedule a separate appointment. Course Description: How should the state respond when the child is a criminal and the criminal is a child? How are juvenile offenders treated differently from adult offenders? To what extent should they be? Juvenile justice laws incorporate an uneasy balance of shifting crime policy and youth policy. Thus, we will consider the ways legal systems respond to children who violate the criminal law. You will learn that the type of justice system that state laws create and the kinds of intervention strategies that courts employ depend upon basic assumptions we make about crime, the characteristics of children, and the impact of different public policy choices on youth and crime rates. In summary, this seminar will explore the creation, development, and reformation of the juvenile justice system in the United States. We will examine and analyze the trajectory of juvenile justice in the United States over the course of the last century, from its birth as a separate system in the early 1900s, through the due process revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the widespread punitive reforms of the 1990s, to the evidence-based reform era and the recent rulings on the juvenile death penalty, juvenile mandatory life without parole, and juvenile interrogations. We will also explore related topics, such as the relationship between school systems and juvenile delinquency (i.e. school-to-prison pipeline). Our course objectives are as follows: • Critically analyze the purpose, motives, outcomes, and shortcomings of the early and present-day juvenile court systems; • Understand and apply the current research on adolescent brain development, peer pressure, and decision-making; • Examine the psychological and physical dangers of youth transferred to criminal court and incarcerated in adult prisons and evaluate whether transfers are ever justified; • Explore evidence-based alternatives to incarceration and examine their effectiveness, research limitations and flaws, and replicability; • Analyze recent Supreme Court cases and predict future advocacy efforts; and • Reflect on your learning experiences during this course and determine how you will apply your experiences to positively impact vulnerable youth outside of the classroom.

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Required Texts: Class readings will be posted on our course Canvas page. You will not need to purchase a separate textbook for our seminar. Assessment of Learning: Attendance and Participation: In a class of this size, it is essential that everyone prepare for, attend, and actively participate in every class meeting. Your participation is integral to our class discussions. The quality of your contribution is more important than the quantity. I prefer to rely on volunteers to contribute to our discussion, but I reserve the right to call on students randomly. Assigned readings should be completed prior to our class meetings. Please notify me in advance if you are unable to attend class on a given day. Please keep in mind the ABA’s Standards and the Law School’s Attendance Policy. •

Questions for Guest Speakers: We will have several guest speakers join our class this semester to help us apply concepts learned in class to practice. Before each guest lecture, you will submit a minimum of 1-2 questions for the speaker. You may ask questions based on the assigned reading, outside research, or related to cases you may have worked on where the speaker may be able to provide insight. (Please do not reveal confidential or identifying information about your clients or cases.) Please post your questions in the Discussion section of our course Canvas page. Questions are due by 9:00 a.m. on the Tues before the guest lecture. Please see syllabus for dates with guest speakers.

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Discussion Sparks: You will have the opportunity (independently or in small groups) to start and – spark! – our class discussion. This will help us think about the material in new ways and keep abreast of relevant current events and cases. You could spark our discussion with a provocative or difficult question that emerged from the reading, a compelling quote, a news article, or a short video clip, among other things. You may sign up for a date via this google doc: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QP2FuxRfNtDt5K_Jra_lm_6dP1hMeWVncG4 s3V1A2Qw/edit?usp=sharing. Please inform me of your group’s plan for the discussion spark no later than 9:00 a.m. the day before your designated presentation date.

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Simulations: There will be several smaller in-class simulations throughout the semester and one final in-class simulation exercise related to various stages of a juvenile delinquency case. For the final simulation, students will be assigned to play the role of a prosecutor, defense attorney, or judge. The attorneys will be required to present an oral argument on behalf of their client or the state, while judges will be required to actively question the attorneys and issue an oral opinion of the court.

Court Observation: To help put the theoretical information covered in class into context, you will observe a juvenile delinquency docket at a local juvenile and domestic relations court. The delinquency docket in Albemarle is heard on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. The delinquency docket in Charlottesville is heard on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. Page 2 of 9

First appearances and motions start at 9:00am. Trials are set to start at 9:30am. Please stop by the clerk’s office before you head to the courtroom to let them know that you are a student in my juvenile justice class and are there to observe court. The clerks will alert the judge to your presence, and the judge may ask if you have questions once the docket concludes. Please feel free to introduce yourself and ask questions. No more than 5 students should attend court on any given day. Please sign up for your court observation date via the google link for discussion sparks above. If you have a scheduling conflict with the Albemarle or Charlottesville dates, you may observe a delinquency docket in a J&DR court of your choice. You may want to contact the clerk’s office in advance to schedule your observation. You must observe a delinquency docket for approximately two hours. Following the observation, you should draft a 2-5 page written report of your observations to be e-mailed to me within a week of your court visit. Please include the date, the name of the court, the name of the judge, and a brief description of what you observed. What were the issues? What were your impressions of the attorneys involved in the hearings? Did the attorneys serve their clients (the government, youth, or parent) well? What was the quality of the lawyering for the government and the child or parent? Did the child appear to understand what was happening in the case? Did the child appear to have a say in what was happening in the case? What was the extent of the child’s participation in court? Did anything particularly impress, surprise, or disturb you? In your opinion, was justice delivered? Do you agree with the disposition(s) in light of what you know about adolescent brain development research? Would you have done anything differently as one of the attorneys or reached a different conclusion as the judge? What disposition(s) would you have advocated for based on what you have learned in our class? Because juvenile matters are confidential, please do not include youths’ full names or any identifying information. Court observation reflection papers should be e-mailed directly to me within a week of your observation. All reflections should be submitted to me no later than Dec. 16th at 5:00 p.m. Final Paper: For your final paper, you will write a 10-15 page paper targeting one specific aspect of juvenile justice where you would like to see reform. Your final paper should incorporate an overview of existing laws, practices, policies, and empirical data (if available). Your sources of authority should not be limited to those we have read in class. The paper should also make specific and concrete recommendations for reform. Superior papers will make novel contributions to the field. Be careful not to offer a proposal that is too broad and far ranging. It is not necessary for you to completely solve the problem as some systemic institutional problems may be beyond repair. However, you should consider ways to improve the problem, while weighing the trade-offs and costs that come with your proposed course(s) of action. You are free to choose any topic related to juvenile justice, including topics we did not cover in class. Please use 12 point Times New Roman font for the text of your paper. The text should be double-spaced. The footnotes should be single-spaced and in 10 point font. Please use standard 1 inch margins. You need not include a cover page or table of contents. Page 3 of 9

Please e-mail a brief description or sketch outline of your paper topic to me by Monday, Oct. 21st at 5:00 p.m. Final papers are due via EXPO by Dec. 16th at 5:00 p.m. Breakdown of Assessments: Attendance and Participation (including speaker questions, discussion sparks, and class simulations) – 30% Court Observation Reflection Paper – 10% Final Paper – 60% Laptops and Electronic Devices: In a class as small as ours, extraneous laptop use can be very distracting to your colleagues and professor. If you use a laptop, please limit your use to note-taking or researching an item relevant to our present class discussion. When we host guest speakers, please refrain from using your laptops (unless you have an approved accommodation). I reserve the right to change this laptop policy at any point in the semester. Cell phones and other electronic devices may not be used in class and will result in a reduction of your grade. Accommodations: The University of Virginia strives to provide accessibility to all students. If you require an accommodation to fully access this course, please contact Dean Sarah Davies in the Office of Student Affairs ([email protected]; Room SL 109A).

Class Schedule *Topics, assignments, and dates are subject to change* Note: I may supplement the assignments with additional readings from time to time. These additions will usually be modest and will either be e-mailed to you or posted on Canvas. 8/28 Class 1 - Introduction to the Juvenile Justice System + Origins of the Juvenile Court Reading:

Excerpt from BARRY C. FELD, CASES AND MATERIALS ON JUVENILE JUSTICE (4th Ed., 2013) NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL, REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE: A DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH, Chapter 2 Historical Context, p. 31-47 (2013) Excerpt from JERRY R. FOXHOVEN, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY LAW AND PROCEDURE, CHAPTER 6, p. 201-202 (2017)

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Excerpt from Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Data Resource Guide FY 2018, available at http://www.djj.virginia.gov/pdf/about-djj/DRG/FY18_DRG.pdf 9/4 Class 2 - The Constitutionalization of Juvenile Courts Reading:

In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970) McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528 (1971)

9/11 Class 3 - Adolescent Competence, Culpability, & Brain Development Guest Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Woolard; Associate Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University Reading:

Laurence Steinberg et. al, Are Adolescents Less Mature Than Adults? Minors’ Access to Abortion, the Juvenile Death Penalty, and the Alleged APA “Flip-Flop,” 64 American Psychologist 583 (2009) Laurence Steinberg & Robert G. Schwartz, Developmental Psychology Goes to Court, in YOUTH ON TRIAL: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE 9 (Thomas Grisso & Robert G. Schwartz eds., 2000) (*skim first few subsections; focus on “Relevance of Developmental Information to Decision Making” to end of chapter) Selection from Kids Are Different: How Knowledge of Adolescent Development Theory Can Aid Decision-Making in Court, in Understanding Adolescents, A Juvenile Court Training Curriculum (2000)

Assignment: Questions for guest speaker should be posted on Canvas by 9:00 am on Tues. 9/18 Class 4 - Youth Prosecuted and Incarcerated as Adults Reading:

Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966) John DiIulio, The Coming of the Super-Predators, THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Nov. 27, 1995 U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Challenging the Myths (2000), available at http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178993.pdf Tyler B. Case Study + Questions (located in Class 3 readings) Page 5 of 9

(Skim) Liz Ryan, Youth in the Adult Criminal Justice System, Campaign for Youth Justice (2012), available at http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/images/policybriefs/policyreform/FR_ YACJS_2012.pdf (*Please note that a few facts and details in the report have changed or have been updated.) (Skim) Carmen E. Daugherty, Zero Tolerance: How States Comply with PREA’s Youthful Inmate Standard, Campaign for Youth Justice, p. 1-17 (2015), available at http://cfyj.org/images/pdf/Zero_Tolerance_Report.pdf In-Class Exercise:

Juvenile court exercise (based on Kids Are Different selection)

9/25 Class 5 - Class Canceled (make-up class TBA) 10/2 Class 6 - Pre-Trial Issues: Juvenile Interrogation and False Confessions Reading:

Excerpted juvenile interrogation cases (for background and for your simulation prep) J.D.B. v. North Carolina, 131 S.Ct. 2394 (2011) (majority opinion) Excerpt from Thomas Grisso, Juveniles’ Capacities to Waive Miranda Rights: An Empirical Analysis, 68 CAL. L. REV. 1134 (1980) Christine Scott-Hayward, Explaining Juvenile False Confessions: Adolescent Development and Police Interrogation, 31 LAW & PSYCHOL. REV. 53 (2007) To learn more about the Michael Crowe false confession case, see: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-confession-14-10-2004/. Simulation exercise scenario

In-Class Exercise:

Juvenile interrogation simulation

10/9 Class 7 - The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Guest Speaker: Valerie Boykin; Director of the VA Department of Juvenile Justice Reading:

2018 DJJ Transformation Plan, available at http://www.djj.virginia.gov/pdf/admin/Transformation%20Update%202018%20 FINAL.pdf

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(Skim) Excerpt from Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Data Resource Guide FY 2018, available at http://www.djj.virginia.gov/pdf/aboutdjj/DRG/FY18_DRG.pdf (Skim) Transforming Juvenile Justice Systems to Improve Public Safety and Youth Outcomes Assignment: Questions for guest speaker should be posted on Canvas by 9:00 am on Tues. 10/16 - NO CLASS (FALL BREAK) 10/23 Class 8 - Juvenile Death Penalty & JLWOP (Part 1) Reading:

Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. ___ (2016) The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Montgomery Momentum – Two Years of Progress since Montgomery v. Louisiana (2018), available at: https://www.fairsentencingofyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/MontgomeryAnniversary-2018-Snapshot1.pdf

10/30 Class 9 - JLWOP: State Responses to Miller/Montgomery Guest Speakers (via Skype): Professor Bob Lancaster; Director of the LSU Parole Assistance & Re-entry Clinic + Andrew Hundley; Executive Director of the Parole Project and first juvenile lifer released in Louisiana following Miller Reading: Selected Louisiana Code Sections: CCP 878.1 http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=859219 and R.S. 15.574.4 http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=79239 (Optional) Watch Dateline episode “Life Inside” S2019 E90619; aired on 09/06/19 https://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/life-inside/4021191 (~40 min) Note: Additional modest readings may be assigned before our class. Assignment: Questions for guest speakers should be posted on Canvas by 9:00 am on Tues.

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11/6 Class 10 - National, State, and Local Juvenile Justice Reform Efforts Guest Speakers: Peggy Nicholson; Director of Youth Justice Project, Southern Coalition for Social Justice Rachel Marshall; Federal Policy Counsel, Campaign for Youth Justice Reading:

(Skim) Jeree Thomas, Raising the Bar: State Trends in Keeping Youth Out of Adult Courts (2015-2017), Campaign for Youth Justice (2017), available at: http://cfyj.org/images/A-StateTrends_Report-Web.pdf (Skim) Anne Teigen, Principles of Effective Juvenile Justice Policy, National Conference of State Legislatures (2018), available at: http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/Documents/cj/JJ_Principles_122017_31901.pdf (Skim) National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition’s Vision for Youth Justice 2020: A Policy Platform for the 2020 Election (2019) (Skim) National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition’s Opportunities for Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Reform (Recommendations to the 116th Congress) (Optional) Watch Vice episode “Raised in the System” (available with HBO subscription)

Assignment: Questions for guest speakers should be posted on Canvas by 9:00 am on Tues. 11/13 Class 11 - Pre-Trial Issues: School Searches Reading:

(See JJ Seminar Readings Classes 5-7) New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325 (1985) (majority opinion) ▪ I’ve included the concurrences and dissents for those who may be interested, but they are not required readings. Safford v. Redding, 557 U.S. 364 (2009) (majority opinion) Michael Pinard, From the Classroom to the Courtroom: Reassessing Fourth Amendment Standards in Public School Searches Involving Law Enforcement Authorities, 45 ARIZ. L. REV. 1067 (2003) Excerpt of Newport News Public Schools Student Rights & Responsibilities Handbook

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11/20 Class 12 - Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED)/Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) + School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP) Reading:

TBA

11/27 - NO CLASS (THANKSGIVING BREAK)

12/4 Class 13 - Simulation Exercise Reading:

No additional readings; materials and assignments will be distributed in advance

Websites on Juvenile Justice: www.jjgps.org (Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice & Statistics) www.ncjj.org (National Center for Juvenile Justice) https://www.ojjdp.gov/ (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ (Statistical Briefing Book accessing data on juvenile justice) http://www.jlc.org/index.php (Juvenile Law Center) https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Topics/Topic.aspx?TopicID=122 (Criminal Justice Reference Service Juvenile Justice) http://njdc.info/ (National Juvenile Defender Center) http://www.adjj.org/content/index.php (MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile justice) http://www.aecf.org/ (Annie E. Casey Foundation—Juvenile detention and alternatives; Kids Count) http://www.cclp.org/racial-and-ethnic-disparities-resources/ (Racial and ethnic disparities resources) http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/ (ending the practice of prosecuting, sentencing, and incarcerating youth in the adult criminal justice system) http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/Downloads/NationalReportsArticles/CFYJJailing_Juveniles_Report_2007-11-15.pdf (Report on the dangers of incarcerating juveniles in adult jails)

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