Throughout 2022, reports were released about the conditions youth in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department were experiencing. From being in cells 22 hours to using water bottles, milk cartons, and lunch trays or pieces of paper as makeshift toilets, youth in detention clearly need advocates to protect their constitutional and human rights.
LSJA has been vigorously advocating for detained youth through direct representation and at the State Capitol. We need your help to continue this work, especially during this 88th Legislative Session.
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Project Partners
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Through our Youth Sentencing Project, we provide direct strategic litigation on behalf of youth who were tried in the adult criminal legal system and given extremely long prison sentences, particularly those sentenced to life without parole.
Youth should be held accountable for their wrongdoing in developmentally appropriate ways that consider their age, individual characteristics, and specific circumstances of their cases.
Our staff litigators take the lead on a limited number of cases every year, selecting those that have the potential to influence system-wide change. Last year, LSJA was involved in 13 cases challenging the transfer of youth (either as lead counsel or in a technical support role) and won 12 of these cases.
