For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 5

Eighteen Is Not a Magic Number: How
Defense Attorneys Can Advocate For
Clients Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Five
Tirza Kyes
oday's American culture tells us that one
becomes an adult upon the eighteenth
birthday, which is why the criminal justice
system has traditionally set the age of majority at
eighteen. In Roper v. Simmons,1
Court acknowledged this
the U.S. Supreme
line may be over- or
under-inclusive but stated a " line must be drawn. " 2
The traditional age cut-off at eighteen is a social
construction, rather than a scientific one. Scientific
research in fact suggests that the human brain does
not fully develop until age twenty-five.3
T
States are
responsible for setting the upper juvenile jurisdiction
age limit, and the maximum age is eighteen or lower
in forty-nine states.4
Vermont recently raised their
majority age to twenty-one for purposes of youthful
offender status-the highest age of majority in the
country.5
youths6
These arbitrary state-drawn lines leave
vulnerable to the harsh contours of the adult
criminal system instead of the juvenile system where
they belong.
While the adult criminal system is shaped
primarily by punitive ideologies, the juvenile justice
system is focused on rehabilitation. We treat youth
" delinquents " differently than their adult " criminal "
counterparts, placing delinquents in detention
centers whose mission is to rehabilitate, not to
punish.7
A primary justification behind this rehabilitative
focus of the juvenile system is that " kids are
different. " 8
The Supreme Court has indicated that
" juveniles are generally-though not necessarily in
every case-less morally culpable than adults who
commit the same crimes. " 9
The Court issued a series
of landmark decisions regarding juvenile culpability
in Roper v. Simmons,10
Graham v. Florida,11
and Miller
v. Alabama.12 In each case, the Court found three
differences between juveniles and adults: juveniles
(1) have a " lack of maturity and an underdeveloped
sense of responsibility, " often resulting in " impetuous
Vol. 7, Issue 1 l For The Defense 5

For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1

Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 1
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 2
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - Contents
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 4
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 5
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 6
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 7
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 8
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 9
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 10
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 11
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 12
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 13
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 14
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 15
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 16
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For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 18
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 19
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 20
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 21
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 22
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 23
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 24
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 25
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 26
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 27
For the Defense - Vol. 7, Issue 1 - 28
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