Save the Date:
November 19, 2013 / 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 pm

 

RAISE THE AGE, TURN THE PAGE:

Reconsidering Juvenile and Criminal Court Jurisdiction in New York

 

Pinkerton Symposium on Youth Justice
sponsored by the Pinkerton Foundation and the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

 

New York State places more 16- and 17-year-old youth in criminal (adult) court than any other state in the country. Other states, including Connecticut, Illinois, and Massachusetts are returning their young people to juvenile or family court by changing the laws that govern the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction. Such efforts are called “raise the age,” and New York has its own reform movement to pursue this goal.

Handling young offenders in the interventionist juvenile system rather than the retributive criminal system is consistent with modern knowledge about adolescent development and neuroscience, but is it enough simply to “raise the age?” Can youth advocates declare victory and go home if they successfully reset the upper-age law, or might such a success be just the first step in a broader movement to bring the legal system into alignment with science and good practice?

Speakers and audience members at the November 19th Pinkerton Symposium on Youth Justice will explore the social, legal, and economic concepts underlying the pervasive legal distinctions between juvenile and criminal law as well as the choices facing New York lawmakers.

Check back on October 21st for more details and registration information.