7/22/04

7/22/04 Clinic Joins International Community in Call to End Juvenile Executions

Several attorneys and law students from the Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) of the Bluhm Legal Clinic were involved in writing two separate amicus briefs that were filed with the U. S. Supreme Court on Monday, July 19, 2004, in the case of Roper v. Simmons, No. 03-633. Both briefs assert that the juvenile death penalty is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.

Steven Drizin co-wrote a brief, which was filed on behalf of more than 50 child advocacy organizations. This brief focused on the national consensus against executing juvenile offenders. Lauren Adams and her students assisted in recruiting signatories, as well as drafting and coordinating the filing of a brief signed by 17 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including President Jimmy Carter. This brief, which was written in large part by volunteer attorneys, focused on the prohibition of the juvenile death penalty as a widely recognized rule of international law. Links to both briefs can be found on the America Bar Association's Web site.

These two briefs are the culmination of more than five years of work at the CFJC to eliminate the juvenile death penalty in the United States. In addition to preparing these amicus briefs, attorneys at the CFJC, including Bernardine Dohrn, Steven Drizin, and Lauren Adams, have been working with a coalition of national groups in an effort to raise the minimum age for the death penalty to 18. This work centers on building and strengthening local coalitions in target states that work to support legislation that will raise the minimum age for the death penalty to 18. CFJC attorneys also have joined attorneys and advocates from across the nation in seeking clemency for juvenile offenders facing imminent execution. In October, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty in the United States, and is expected to issue a ruling by early next spring.

Download a copy of the Nobel Peace Laureates brief (pdf)