Monthly Archives: October 2012

Juvenile Hall is Often No Place for Kids

Posted on October 28, 2012 by tbirckhe

My latest op-ed — also published via the Huffington Post and Youth Today: DURHAM, N.C. — The local detention center where my juvenile clients are held while their cases are pending is called the “Youth Home.” The irony of the label is … Continue reading →

Posted in Conditions of Confinement, Delinquency, Juvenile Court, Juveniles, Rehabilitation, Sentencing | 6 Comments

Shutting Down the School to Prison Pipeline

Posted on October 26, 2012 by tbirckhe

My latest piece for the Huffington Post: “School is just a waiting room to prison.” ~ African-American teenager, Washington, D.C. If you sit in juvenile delinquency court long enough, you notice a few things. Most of the kids are black … Continue reading →

Posted in Delinquency, Education, Juvenile Court, Juveniles, Poverty, Race, Class, Ethnicity, School to Prison Pipeline | Leave a comment

Tough Times for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

Posted on October 24, 2012 by tbirckhe

If you’re a regular reader, you know that the topic of girls in the juvenile justice system is one that concerns me greatly.  The title of this post is the title of this short piece by Carrie Johnson of NPR: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Conditions of Confinement, Delinquency, Gender, Juvenile Court, Juveniles, Reports, School to Prison Pipeline, State Laws | 3 Comments

Reconsidering Life Sentences for Juveniles who Kill

Posted on October 20, 2012 by tbirckhe

My latest for the Huffington Post: In the 1993 book Dead Man Walking, Sister Helen Prejean tells the story of people directly impacted by capital punishment — convicted murderers counting down to their own executions, wardens and guards dutifully operating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Court, Death Penalty, Juveniles, Miller v. Alabama, Post-Conviction, Sentencing, U.S. Supreme Court | 2 Comments

Infographic on the Criminalization of Poor D.C. Youth

Posted on October 19, 2012 by tbirckhe

From our friends at D.C. Lawyers for Youth (DCLY): DC Lawyers for Youth (DCLY) has launched a capital-wide campaign to reach out to kids, families, policymakers, practitioners and systems administrators to communicate the error in spending and judgement when it … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal /Juvenile Defense, Juvenile Court, Juveniles, Organizations, Poverty, Race, Class, Ethnicity, School to Prison Pipeline | Leave a comment

Infographic on the State of Childhood Poverty

Posted on October 18, 2012 by tbirckhe

Richard LeDonne, a research assistant for Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health, used their data to create the powerful infographic that appears below. He offers this as background: Across the board, children living in poverty in the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Poverty, Race, Class, Ethnicity | Leave a comment

Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall

Posted on October 18, 2012 by tbirckhe

The title of this post is the title of the final volume of Susan Madden Lankford’s trilogy on interlinked social issues.  Here is a description: Susan Lankford’s latest book is Born, Not Raised: Voices from Juvenile Hall, which a recent review in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Conditions of Confinement, Juveniles, Media, Visual Arts | 1 Comment

When the Law Doesn’t Fit the Crime: Lessons from the Blogosphere

Posted on October 11, 2012 by tbirckhe

I’m now blogging for the Huffington Post.  Here’s my first piece, which also appears on the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange: Practicing criminal law is not rocket science. It’s also not open heart surgery. But it’s more than just slapping a … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogosphere, Case Law, Criminal /Juvenile Defense, State Laws | 1 Comment

Growing Up in Locked Down: Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States

Posted on October 11, 2012 by tbirckhe

The title of this post is the title of an important new report issued by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU, which may be summarized as follows: Every day, in jails and prisons across the United States, young people under the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conditions of Confinement, Juveniles, Media, Mental Health, Organizations, Reports, Sentencing | 1 Comment

Juveniles and the Supreme Court: Conference at Loyola Law School 10/12/12

Posted on October 9, 2012 by tbirckhe

If folks are in the Los Angeles area on Friday, October 12, 2012, please try to attend a conference on “Juveniles and the Supreme Court” at Loyola Law School. Here is the schedule:   8:30 -9:00 am     Registration … Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis, Conferences, Law Schools, Legal Scholarship, Miller v. Alabama, U.S. Supreme Court | 1 Comment