Children and the Law Posts
Welcome to the Border: Asylum Seekers in the Trump Era
If you believe the rhetoric, the U.S.-Mexico border is a repugnant and dangerous place roiling with unseemly people sneaking into our country, smuggling drugs and escaping law enforcement.
October 2018 Council Updates
During its meeting in New York City on October 18 and 19, the ALI Council reviewed drafts for seven Institute projects. Drafts or portions of drafts for six projects received Council approval, subject to the meeting discussion and to the usual prerogative to make nonsubstantive editorial improvements.
The Students Suing for a Constitutional Right to Education
Nearly all of the world’s 180-plus countries include the term education in their constitution. Most guarantee every child the right to free education, and many make participation in some form of schooling mandatory; some even provide universal access to affordable college.
What is the Children and the Law Restatement?
The Children and the Law Restatement aims to present a contemporary conception of parental rights and authority with the promotion of child welfare as a core goal, while grappling with questions about the legal personhood of children. Here is a video explaining the scope of the project.
Use of Incriminating Disclosures in Connection with Transfer Proceedings
This week, project participants for ALI’s Children and the Law Restatement gather in Philadelphia to discuss Preliminary Draft No. 5, which includes three Sections from Part III. Children in the Justice System:
The Path of Education Reform: Law, Politics, and Public Policy
The panel discussion “The Path of Education Reform: Law, Politics, and Public Policy” was held at ALI’s 2018 Annual Meeting. The discussion addressed topics surrounding education reform, including race, language, economic means, charter and private schools, and more.
Justin Driver Discusses Public Education
Justin Driver of the University of Chicago Law School recently visited the National Constitution Center for a stimulating discussion on the role the U.S. Supreme Court has played in defining the rights of students in America’s public schools, from race and drugs to religion and free speech.
California kids who didn’t learn to read and write to get day in court
California Supreme Justice Goodwin Liu raised court-watchers’ eyebrows two years ago when the court declined to consider a much-watched lawsuit over the adequacy of state education funding, but Liu hinted he’d welcome another case to define children’s right to a meaningful education under the California Constitution.
Brendan Dassey’s false confession shows we need to be more careful when interrogating juveniles
A recent USA Today Op-ed piece addresses the topic of juvenile interrogation tactics.
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.