Found 13 matches.
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NJPC Souls of Young Folk Report
Tags: New Jersey | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Member Publications
Every year, over 75,000 children and youth are tried as adults across the country.1 Between 32,000 and 60,000 of those youth are held in adult jails.2 The number of laws providing for the prosecution, incarceration, and sentencing of youth as adults grew substantially in the 1980s and 1990s, including in New Jersey. This brief explores the causes of racial disparities and disproportionality in New Jersey's waiver of black youth to the adult criminal justice system. To analyze potential causes, we reviewed data from the New Jersey Department of Corrections, the Office of the Attorney General, and the New Jersey State Police along with qualitative surveys from incarcerated youth and their families. In addition to data, we gathered historical research on the treatment of black adults and youth in New Jersey and the development of New Jersey's waiver laws over the past thirty-seven years. Our conclusion is that there are a constellation of factors including historical, structural, and implicit bias that contribute to the disproportionate waiver of black youth to the adult system. As a result, the New Jersey Parents' Caucus recommends ending the practice of waiver of youth to the adult system to address the historical, structural, and implicit bias embedded in the waiver process. We recognize that ending youth waiver is a long-term effort; therefore, to start addressing bias immediately, we recommend holding prosecutors accountable for the discretion they wield in transferring youth to the adult criminal justice system. Specifically, there is a need for more detailed data collection, transparency, and oversight to address the ongoing effects of historical, structural, and implicit bias negatively impacting black youth.
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Youth Transfer: The Importance of Individualized Factor Review
Tags: Federal | California | Nebraska | New Jersey | Youth in the Adult System | Partner Publications
This publication states facts, reviews and analysis of negative impact as a result of youth incarceration in terms of youth safety and public safety with examples of prosecutorial factors in Nebraska, New Jersey and California. The publication ends with policy recommendations.
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New Report Questions New Jersey’s Juvenile Justice System
Tags: New Jersey | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Media
News story and video covering report on glaring racial disparities by NJJN member the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; includes interview with Kathy Wright, an alumna of NJJN's fellowship institute.
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Bring Our Children Home: Ain't I A Child? (full report)
Tags: New Jersey | Brain and Adolescent Development | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Youth in the Adult System | Member Publications
Extreme racial inequalities persist within New Jersey's juvenile justice system, according to a report from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Includes policy solutions.
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Bring Our Children Home: Ain't I A Child? (policy brief)
Tags: New Jersey | Brain and Adolescent Development | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Youth in the Adult System | Member Publications
Extreme racial inequalities persist within New Jersey's juvenile justice system, according to a report from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Includes policy solutions.
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Bill would address racial disparities in NJ laws
Tags: New Jersey | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Public Opinion and Messaging | Legislation
Legislation, S-677 (A-3677), authorizes racial impact statements for proposed criminal justice policies to address the disproportionate incarceration rates of African Americans. New Jersey has the highest black/white disparity in its prisons.
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Kids in Prison: Getting Tried as An Adult Depends on Skin Color
Tags: New Jersey | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Youth in the Adult System | Media
Black teenagers in New Jersey are being tried as adults more than any other racial or ethnic group, resulting in harsher treatment and longer sentences. However, as of March 1st, 2016 minors in can not be sent to adult prisons and must at least start their sentences in juvenile facilities, though they may still be prosecuted as an adult.
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Navigating the New Jersey Juvenile Justice System: A Family Guide
Tags: New Jersey | Family and Youth Involvement | Web-Based Tools | Member Publications
A guide for families of incarcerated youth to navigating the New Jersey juvenile justice system. Created by the New Jersey Parents' Caucus (an NJJN member).
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The Incarceration of Children & Youth in New Jersey's Adult Prison System
Tags: New Jersey | Youth in the Adult System | Member Publications
The New Jersey Parents Caucus (NJPC) created this data brief on youth in the New Jersey adult prison system. Among its key findings were gross racial and ethnic disparities, widespread denial of due process for youth, regular abuse of young people in the system, and overuse of solitary confinement on youth.
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Appeals Court Rules that Transfer to Adult Facility without Due Process Violates Youth’s Rights, State of New Jersey in the Interest of J.J., A-2357-11T2
Tags: New Jersey | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Youth in the Adult System | Court Decisions and Related Documents
New Jersey law permits youth aged 16 or older to be transferred from a juvenile facility to an adult facility if the youth’s “continued presence in the juvenile facility threatens the public safety, the safety of [other confined youth], or the ability of the commission to operate the program in the manner intended.” The state maintained that such youth could be transferred without any due process, and transferred the youth in this case without any prior notice to him, his family, his attorney, or the juvenile judge. However, the appellate court disagreed and invalidated the transfer, holding that, given the adult prison’s focus on punishment and security, rather than rehabilitation, youth must be provided due process—including written notice of the transfer with the supporting factual basis, the opportunity to be heard and present opposition, some form of representation, and written findings of fact supporting the decision to proceed with the transfer. State of New Jersey in the Interest of J.J., A-2357-11T2, decided August 28, 2012.
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New Jersey Supreme Court Holds Right to Counsel for a Juvenile Attaches Early, In re P.M.P., 200 N.J. 166 (2009)
Tags: New Jersey | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Court Decisions and Related Documents
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the right to counsel attaches at the time of the filing of a delinquency complaint and obtainment of a judicially approved arrest warrant because they are “critical stages” of delinquency proceedings. The court further held that youth cannot waive their right to counsel except in the presence of and after consultation with an attorney.
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Megan's Law: Assessing the Practical and Monetary Efficacy, Kristen Zgoba, et al., National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Tags: New Jersey | Sex Offender Registries | Reports
Report concerning the various impacts of community notification and registration laws (Megan's Law) in New Jersey. Report was embarked upon in general to investigate: (1) the effect of Megan's Law on the overall rate of sexual offending over time; (2) its specific deterrence effect on re-offending, including the level of general and sexual offense recidivism, the nature of sexual re-offenses, and time to first re-arrest for sexual and non-sexual re-offenses (i.e., community tenure); and (3) the costs of implementation and annual expenditures of Megan's Law.
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Don't Wait Up: Issues in Juvenile Justice, Charisa A. Smith, New Jersey Family Lawyer
Tags: New Jersey | Brain and Adolescent Development | Reports
Article detailing how scientific studies have proven that teenagers are more likely to thrill-seek and engage in risky and impulsive behavior because of the developmental stage of their brains. Article includes a discussion of New Jersey's shift to more punitive treatment of youth offenders and how this punitive treatment policy fails to account for brain development issues in youth.