Through a competitive application process, LSJA has been named the host site for The Gault Center (formerly National Juvenile Defender Center) South Central Region which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. LSJA was chosen in part because of our three Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) trained lawyers on staff: Elizabeth Henneke, Yulise Reaves Waters, and Nydia Thomas. We are also excited to share that Nydia Thomas, LSJA’s Attorney and Director of Training, was named Co-Director of the South-Central Region.
The Gault Center and its Regional Centers promote justice for all children by ensuring excellence in youth defense. Regional Centers coordinate activities in their states, including training for youth defenders and justice system stakeholders; local, state, and national policy advocacy; and outreach to strengthen, grow, and diversify the youth defense community. Regional Centers pursue this work while promoting specialization in youth defense, applying adolescent development and racial justice frameworks, and emphasizing the expressed interests and rights of youth. We are thrilled to partner with The Gault Center to amplify this aspect of LSJA’s work!
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.
