The Gault Center

“It’s a manifestation of widespread implicit racial bias that plagues not just the American public but decision-makers and the legal system as well.”

Harsh Florida law sees more Black kids tried as adults than white kids Between 2008 and 2022, Florida charged around 20,500 kids in adult court. Three out of four of the children came from minority communities.

“We are so committed to doing what doesn’t work."

For kids arrested in Chicago, the city has little to offer Chicago’s promises to provide counseling, social services instead of court or detention for youthful offenders is late, under-resourced, and run by some contractors with past controversies.

"I learned at too young of an age that the system wasn't going to make me a better man, just hurt me."

Youth detention facilities face increased scrutiny amid a wave of abuse lawsuits A new lawsuit alleges widespread sexual abuse of juveniles took place over decades at Illinois youth detention facilities. Similar lawsuits have been filed this year in other states.

The Gault Center is delighted to announce the release of our 29th statewide assessment of youth defense systems: A Tale of Two Systems: An Assessment of Access to & Quality of Youth Defense Counsel in Utah.

A Tale of Two Systems: An Assessment of Access to & Quality of Youth Defense Counsel in Utah – The Gault Center A Tale of Two Systems: An Assessment of Access to & Quality of Youth Defense Counsel in Utah The Utah assessment is the 29th statewide assessment of youth defense delivery systems the Gault Center has conducted. These assessments gather information and data about the structure and funding of defense...

"Having a good public defender can make a big difference for kids in the system and making sure these defenders are compensated well may be key."

Do Utah youth get a good defense in court? The Gault Center report emphasized high-level reform through changing pay structures and analyzing the system regularly to ensure fairness.

“Judges aren’t paying attention to what works to rehabilitate juveniles, they’re paying attention to public perception."

How St. Louis' juvenile justice system often harms the kids it intends to help The juvenile justice framework intended for youth rehabilitation has caused frustration among those involved — including parents left to feel hopeless and in limbo.

"Juvenile courts should stop relying on this junk science and replace it with more reliable, evidence-based approaches."

Mostly banned from adult courts, polygraphs also shouldn’t be used against juveniles In juvenile courts judges have the discretion to allow polygraph test results as evidence. Should juvenile courts stop relying on this junk science and replace it with more reliable, evidence-based approaches?

"The continual pressure to charge kids as adults is not just an attack on criminal legal reform, it is a coordinated attack on justice for Black children."

The GOP Is Politicizing Juvenile Crime for Political Gain | Common Dreams From Oakland to Minneapolis, Republican legislators continue to push for juvenile cases to be moved to adult courts, jeopardizing much-needed reform.

“The juvenile justice system has nothing to do with the juvenile. It has everything to do with getting money off of the parent.”

Juvenile injustice: Low-income families pay brunt of fees and fines that vary by county A 2016 Juvenile Law Center report found that, in Indiana and at least 21 other states, families can “pay their way out” of juvenile justice system.

"The only outcome of putting any young person – much less a 10-year-old – in the criminal legal system is further trauma and exacerbating the very issues underlying the misconduct. And these results inevitably erode the safety of our communities."

When a child is prosecuted, who wins? Virginia governor chose politics over people. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill restricting prosecutors from pursuing charges for kids under the age of 11. This isn't criminal justice.

In partnership with Open City Advocates, we are delighted to announce the release of A Call to Expand Post-Disposition Representation of Youth in the Juvenile Legal System.

https://www.defendyouthrights.org/document/a-call-to-expand-post-disposition-representation-of-youth-in-the-juvenile-legal-system/

This new resource outlines why post-disposition representation is critical to protecting youth rights; highlights examples of how post-dispo representation has supported youth success; spotlights organizations providing effective, holistic post-dispo representation; and provides ways jurisdictions can expand post-disposition representation for all youth.

"Most crimes committed by young people in Maryland, as in the rest of the nation, remain below pre-pandemic levels and very far from the peaks of the early 1990s."

Gov. Moore, veto Maryland’s juvenile justice reform bill | GUEST COMMENTARY It is not too late for the governor to veto this bill and instead take executive action on the creation of two positive solutions.

"If we really want to reduce crime, Iet’s invest in children, families, schools, and communities instead of criminalizing teenagers and their fashion."

Ski Mask Bans and the Racist History of Criminalizing Fashion There’s a long history of prohibiting fashion trends popular among young Black and brown people.

"They have to shuffle, they can't walk normally. They always leave these red marks and that's because they're really heavy. You can just tell that they're like dragging them down."

Bucking national trend, Virginia courts continue indiscriminate shackling of juveniles If you're a teenager in Virginia and you get arrested by police, you may end up in court shackled by the wrists and ankles, regardless of the charges.

"Our vision for this work is to cultivate a world where youth are free from systemic injustice and free to shape their own future."

Mary Ann Scali - Executive Director, The Gault Center | Observatorio Internacional de Justicia Juvenil Mary Ann Scali - Executive Director, The Gault Center Wed 27 March 2024 Mary Ann Scali serves as the Executive Director of The Gault Center, where she works with youth defenders and advocates dedicated to promoting justice for all children by ensuring excellence in youth defense. After working as a....

“There’s harm that is happening. There are clear winners and losers. The assigned counsel are winning and the kids are losing.”

Juvenile Cases Are Big Business For Some Lawyers in Cuyahoga County Judges steered two-thirds of cases involving kids accused of crimes to just 10 lawyers in one year, according to a Marshall Project - Cleveland analysis.

"A Baltimore County judge said a defendant found to pose a 'low to moderate risk of reoffending' should stay in the adult court largely because he missed a lot of school."

Judges use ‘arbitrary,’ ‘horrendous’ reasons to keep teens in adult court Maryland automatically charges more teens as adults than almost any other state. An analysis of recent decisions found that some judges rely on what juvenile justice advocates say is unfair reasoning to keep those young people in adult court.

"Tennessee’s youth justice crisis has earned national media attention, but those problems aren’t about the youth the system is designed to serve; they’re about the adults who failed them."

Stop blended sentencing push to punish Tennessee children as both juveniles and adults Tennessee should be serious about safety, but passing blended sentencing legislation is a distraction, a poor short- and long-term investment.

The Gault Center is excited to announce the release of our National Youth Defense System Standards.

The System Standards provide a metric to assess a state’s compliance with constitutional mandates that safeguard the rights of young people in the juvenile legal system, with a particular focus on the right to counsel.

The System Standards call on states to invest in well-resourced youth defense delivery systems to comply with their constitutional obligations to provide every single youth facing liberty deprivations with a qualified and zealous attorney.

The Gault Center believes that building a specialized corps of youth defenders is the key to liberation. Establishing robust youth defense systems will ensure that youth defenders have the right resources to fulfill the constitutional promise of counsel and in so doing, fight for a transformed system under a collective vision of freeing all youth from systemic injustices.
https://www.defendyouthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/National-Youth-Defense-System-Standards.pdf

"Even a minor accused of a violent crime is still a child, who may not understand the seriousness of being arrested or the importance of securing legal representation early on."

Bill requiring attorneys when police interrogate minors is the right move Law enforcement officials have complained that the proposal would delay solving crimes. But juveniles are more likely to give false confessions, and it's better to get it right than quick.

"At some point in 2022 — at the end of 2022 or through 2023 — there was just a tipping point where violence started to fall and it just continued to fall."

Violent crime is dropping fast in the U.S. — even if Americans don't believe it In 2020, the United States experienced one of its most dangerous years in decades. But in 2023, crime in America looked very different. That change may have gone unnoticed.

The Gault Center's very own Jimmonique Rodgers is being honored today by the Black Criminology Network. We're so honored to have her in this community and part of Team Gault!

BHM US & Canada: The Campaign 2024 Happy February, it is officially   across the pond in the US and Canada. Following on from last year’s successful UK BHM Campaign, we’ve decided to go again! …

“People who committed crimes at a very young age have the capacity to turn their lives around and become productive citizens."

A Wave of States Reduce “Death by Incarceration” for Young Adults Massachusetts banned sentences of life without parole for “emerging adults” up to age 21, the latest in a series of states revisiting who counts as young in the eyes of the law.

“Part of not having a vision, is not recognizing that what they are doing is not working.”

‘Shame on Us’: How Maine Struggles to Handle Troubled Youth (Gift Article) Even as fewer teens are being prosecuted, the state is not providing enough intervention, rehabilitation and other help.