Richard Bonnie Posts

Rights of a Juvenile in Custody; Definition of Custody

Part III of the Children and the Law project deals with juvenile justice doctrine. In this area, modern courts increasingly have focused on differences between juvenile and adult offenders, often invoking research on adolescent development to guide legal decisionmaking. As the Introduction to this Part indicates, the Supreme Court has played an important role in promoting this developmental approach; in several opinions, the Court has determined that the immaturity of adolescents should inform the justice system response to juvenile offending.