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41 N. Ky. L. Rev. 187 (2014)
Kids Are Different: Using Supreme Court Jurisprudence about Child Development to Close the Juvenile Court Doors to Minor Offenders

handle is hein.journals/nkenlr41 and id is 203 raw text is: KIDS ARE DIFFERENT: USING SUPREME COURT JURISPRUDENCE ABOUT CHILD DEVELOPMENT TO CLOSE THE JUVENILE COURT DOORS TO MINOR OFFENDERS Kimberly P. Jordan* I. INTRODUCTION Over the last decade, the Supreme Court has developed a line of jurisprudence acknowledging the major differences in the way children and adults make decisions and react to stressful situations. The Court's reasoning and use of developmental science in Roper,' Graham,2 Miller,3 and J.D.B.4 have changed the way that courts and legislatures will address sentencing for young people in the future. Rather than treat teenagers like small adults, the Court has mandated that the criminal justice system and police officers take into account the fact that teenagers' brains do not process information in the same way as adults'. Because of their reduced culpability in committing crimes, says the Court, kids are not eligible, carte blanch, to receive the harshest punishments our system has to offer. For those youths already subject to long sentences, the impact of these cases continues to play out.s For the majority of juveniles involved with the criminal justice system, however, the kids are different reasoning has been under- * Director, Justice for Children Project & Assistant Clinical Professor of Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University. I would like to thank the Law Review at the Chase College of Law for the opportunity to present a version of this paper at its Symposium: Juvenile Justice: Law, Policy, and Opportunities for Reform. I also thank the Junior Faculty Workshop at the Moritz College of Law, Amy Halbrook, and Amna Akbar for supporting this project. 1. See generally Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (determining that the death penalty is disproportionate punishment for offenders who committed offense before attaining age 18). 2. See generally Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) (holding the 8th Amendment does not allow a juvenile to be imprisoned for life without parole for non-homicide offense). 3. See generally Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) (holding that sentencing a juvenile to life in prison without the possibility of parole without considering the mitigating factors of youth is cruel and unusual punishment). 4. See generally J.D.B. v. North Carolina, 131 S. Ct. 2394 (2011) (considering what bearing a child's age has on the reading of Miranda rights). 5. Life Without Parole for Juveniles: States and Courts Weigh In, THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS (Aug. 26, 2013), http://www.pewstates.org/research/data-visualizations/life-without-parole- for-juveniles-states-and-courts-weigh-in-85899500114# (showing how states have responded to Graham and Miller in terms of retroactivity and court v. legislative response). States have differed in their response to Miller. Some states have legislatively taken the juvenile life without parole option off the table. See James Swift, Miller v. Alabama: One Year Later, available at http://jjie.org/miller-v-alabama-one-year-later/. California, Wyoming and Delaware are among that group. Id. Other state courts have considered the issue, and have differed on whether Miller should apply retroactively. See e.g., Chambers v. State of Minn., 831 N.W.2d 311 (2013) (holding Miller not retroactive on post-conviction appeal); but see People v. Davis, 2014 IL 115595 (2014) (holding that Miller retroactively applies on postconviction review).

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