Week 4

Question 1

Roper v. Simmons case

Answer 1

see notes

Question 2

Miller v. Alabama / Jackson v. Hobbs

Answer 2

see notes

Question 3

The Legal Issue
stein article

Answer 3

Juveniles serving the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole violates the 8th Amendment
- Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

Question 4

Proportionality analysis

Answer 4

In which a punishment is considered cruel if it is judged to be excessive given the nature and circumstances of the crime

This is why it is cruel when applied to a juvenile and not an adult

Question 5

who are better candidates for rehabilitation?

Answer 5

KIDS
Personality traits of adolescents are less fixed than they are in adults, and that this makes it difficult to infer that even heinous criminal behavior during adolescence is evidence of an “irretrievably depraved” character

Question 6

The Relevant Developmental Science

Answer 6

Adolescents and individuals in their early 20s are more likely than either children or somewhat older adults to engage in risky behavior

Involvement in violent and nonviolent crime also follows this pattern
- Age crime curve

Question 7

Sensation seeking

Answer 7

The tendency to pursue novel, exciting, and rewarding experiences, increases substantially around the time of puberty and remains high well into the early 20s, then declines

Question 8

Self regulation

Answer 8

The capability to deliberately modulate one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions in the pursuit of a planned goal, is low during childhood and improves over time

Question 9

How Important was Neuroscience to the Supreme Court Decisions?

Answer 9

Was used as a blunt instrument

Findings of structural and functional differences between adolescent and adult brains that are plausibly linked to differences individuals’ ability to control their impulses and to stand up to peer pressure suggest that these aspects of adolescent immaturity are not merely reflective of juveniles’ poor choices or difference values, but they are at least partly due to factors that are not entirely under an individual’s control

Question 10

Looking Forward

Answer 10

Continue to make process by pursuing:

The study of developmental differences between adolescents and adults that have implications for their differential treatment under criminal law, with a particular focus on the neural underpinnings of these differences

The study of the impact of variations in juvenile justice policy and practice on outcomes other than recidivism

The study of the financial costs and benefits of juvenile justice policy alternatives