The Age of (Guilt Or) Innocence: Using ADR to Reform New York's Juvenile Justice System in the Wake of Miller v. Alabama

Authors

Morgan Molinoff, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

"Youth matters." The concept is deceptively simple. Of course youth matters. One must be a certain age to drive, to vote, to drink, to be elected president. However, the issue becomes much more complex in the context of criminal responsibility and punishment. Should children be held less accountable for their crimes because of their age? Do juveniles have a greater capacity for rehabilitation than adults? By explaining that youth matters in Graham v. Florida and holding that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life in prison without parole for non-homicide crimes, Justice Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court answered these two questions with a resounding "yes."

Section II of this Note provides an overview of the American juvenile justice system, beginning with the most recent Supreme Court decisions regarding juveniles, then moving on to a history of juvenile justice in America, and concluding with a more focused look on juvenile justice in New York State. Section III discusses why ADR is appropriate for the adjudication of youthful offenders and highlights certain ADR methods that are currently in practice in the juvenile justice system. Finally, Section IV proposes a new system for juvenile justice in New York State in which juvenile offenders suffering from mental health issues have the option of being adjudicated in juvenile mental health courts rather than in traditional juvenile justice settings.

Disciplines

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Elder Law | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections

Recommended Citation

Morgan Molinoff, The Age of (Guilt Or) Innocence: Using ADR to Reform New York's Juvenile Justice System in the Wake of Miller v. Alabama, 15 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 297 (2013).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol15/iss1/13