Why is it important to understand juvenile brain development? It goes without saying that it is important to understand if you represent juveniles. But it is also important if you represent adults.
Before we talk about why it is so important, we need to understand what we mean when we say “juvenile brain development.”
The Basics of Juvenile Brain Development
There has been an astounding amount of developments in the area of juvenile brain functions. We now understand that the brain continues to grow and develop well into a person’s 20’s.
In the first 3-5 years of a person’s life, the structure of their brain develops at a rapid pace. As the person grows, their brain continues to develop. The last part to develop is the frontal lobe, which controls things like memory, expression of emotion, sexual behaviors, and judgement. It is basically a person’s control panel.
If a child or young adult suffered trauma or was exposed to drugs or alcohol during the various stages of brain development, their cognitive development may have been negatively impacted.
Because the juvenile and adolescent brain is developing, the actions of people in their teens and early twenties, may not reflect who that person is as a fully developed adult.
The Law and Juvenile Brain Development
The United States Supreme Court has recognized these developments in brain science. In 2005, the Court observed that “A juvenile is not absolved of responsibility for his actions, but his transgression ‘is not as morally reprehensible as that of an adult.’” Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 553 (2005); Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 68 (2010).
The United States Supreme Court has also recognized that “juveniles have diminished culpability.” Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 471 (2012). This “diminished culpability” is a reflection of juvenile’s lack of maturity and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility,’ leading to recklessness, impulsivity, and heedless risk-taking.” Id.
The Court further recognized in Miller that juvenile’s “are more vulnerable” to outside, negative influences. In Roper, the Court noted that “the character of a juvenile is not as well formed as that of an adult. The personality traits of juveniles are more transitory, less fixed.”
In recognizing the difference between adults and juveniles, the Court observed that such differences are not only based on common sense, but also the fact that ‘developments in psychology and brain science continue to show fundamental difference between juvenile and adult minds.” These differences are not “crime specific.”
Do The Holdings in Miller and Roper Apply To People Over 18?
The Supreme Court has not yet addressed the applicability of its reasoning in Miller and Roper to persons over the age of 18. Those questions were not before the Court. More importantly, since Miller and Roper, juvenile brain science has continued to develop.
Other jurisdictions, however, have begun to address juvenile brain development science and its application to persons over the age of 18.
“The features of youth identified in Roper and Graham simply do not magically disappear at age seventeen—or eighteen for that matter. See Elizabeth S. Scott & Laurence Steinberg, Rethinking Juvenile Justice 60 (2008) (“[S]ubstantial psychological maturation takes place in middle and late adolescence and even into early adulthood.”).” State v. Sweet, 879 N.W.2d 811, 837 (Iowa 2016).]; See also, People v. Sanchez, 63 Misc. 3d 938, 945 (New York Cnty. Ct. 2019)(“the development of the adolescent brain does not end at age 18, or any point close to that. Rather, a wealth of brain research has shown that the attributes of adolescent brains which have led courts to prohibit certain punishments for children continue to some degree until age 25).
Why Brain Science Matters In Criminal Law
It is easy to understand why brain science and juvenile brain development matters when representing kids. But what about adults?
Many of your adults clients will be between the ages of 18-25.
That means, according to the science, that their brains are still developing!
You need to make sure that you educate the prosecutor and the judge about juvenile and adolescent brain development in such cases. They want to hold your client to the standard of a fully developed adult. Without you educating them about the science, your client will be held to an unfair standard.
Educating the prosecutor and the judge about juvenile and adolescent brain development will also help you in sentencing. If you client’s brain is still developing that will mean two things. First, your client’s actions do not fully reflect who they are as a person. Second, your client can be rehabilitated.
Many of your adult clients will have prior criminal records from ages 18-25
Understanding juvenile brain science is particularly important when you represent an adult client who has a prior criminal record.
You can utilize the science and quotes from cases, like the ones I have cited in this article, in the sentencing context. Even if your client is in their 30’s or 40’s, or even older, you can utilize juvenile brain science to explain why the court should give less, if any, weight to those prior convictions when your client was between the ages of 18-25.
Sending juveniles and young adults to jail is just bad
You can also use brain science to explain how incarceration, in juvenile detention or adult jails and prisons, impacted your client’s development.
According to a recent study published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “[c]umulative incarceration duration during adolescence and early adulthood is independently associated with worse physical and mental health later in adulthood.” Barnert ES, Dudovitz R, Nelson BB, et al. How does Incarcerating Young People Affect Their Adult Health Outcomes? Pediatrics. Vol. 139, n. 2 (2017).
The National Prison Rape Elimination Act Commission Report also observed that, “Confining youth with an adult and more experienced criminal population has very little deterrent value and has failed to improve public safety. In fact, a recent study found that you transferred to the criminal justice system are more likely to re-offend.”
A 2013 review of literature concerning the outcomes of incarceration on youthful offenders and rehabilitative limitations, also supports the conclusion that incarcerating youthful offenders causes lasting behavioral and social harms. Lambie I, Randell, I The impact of incarceration on juvenile offenders. Clinical Psychology Review 33 (2013) 448-459.
The review found that “Between 70% and 80% of juveniles who have been in residential correction programs are subsequently rearrested within a three-year period, and research indicates that incarceration of juveniles generally is ineffective in reducing recidivism and may maintain, or even increase, levels of engagement in antisocial behavior and criminal activity.” Further, adolescents who are subjected to secure settings lose the ability to “age out” of antisocial behavior. “[I]ncreased contact with antisocial peers in a prison environment…is a contributing factor in negative outcomes for incarcerated adolescents.”
Your client’s history of trauma shapes who they are as adults
It is a sad reality that most of your adult clients have suffered some form of trauma as children or adolescents. This trauma impacted who they became as adults.
It is critical for you to not only learn about your client’s trauma history, but also be able to explain how it impacted their brain development.
It is well documented that trauma during adolescence disrupts brain development. This leads to increased risk taking, impulsivity, substance abuse, and criminal activity.
Here are some resources for you to cite to when discussing this point:
- Chamberlain, L.B. (2009) The amazing teen brain: What every child advocate needs to know. ABA Child Law Practice, 28(2), 17-24;
- Child Welfare Information Gateway, Understanding the effects of maltreatment on brain development. (November, 2009);
- Wilson, K.R., Hansen, D.J., & Li, M., The traumatic stress response in child maltreatment and resultant neuropsychological effects. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(2), 87-97 (2001).
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs – National Center for PTSD has also addressed the impact of trauma on children and adolescents.
“[C]hildren and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events often exhibit other types of problems.” Problems seen in children and adolescents who have experienced non-sexual trauma, often resembles that of those who have endured sexual abuse. This includes “fear, anxiety, depression, anger and hostility, aggression, sexually inappropriate behavior, self-destructive behavior, feelings of isolation and stigma, poor self-esteem, difficulty in trusting others, substance abuse, and sexual maladjustment.”
Additionally, “[c]hildren who have experienced traumas also often have relationship problems with peers and family members, problems with acting out, and problems with school performance.
Get creative.
Obviously you will apply juvenile brain science is at sentencing, but that is not the only time you will.
The Rules of Evidence are important to think about in this context because they can reach into your client’s past. For example, there is Rule 609, which allows the introduction of your client’s prior convictions for impeachment.
For convictions that do not involve acts of dishonesty, the government must show that the evidence is more probative than unfairly prejudicial. Argue that the probative value is greatly diminished given your client’s age at the time of the act and conviction. Therefore, the conviction should not be admitted under 609.
See where I’m going with this?
Think of any rule where your client’s past bad behaviors may become relevant and admissible. There is Rule 404, 405, 413, 414, and 608.
Do Your Research!
There is a lot to read out there. I would highly recommend starting with the resources I have provided you with in this article. It is not enough to just read Miller and Roper. You need to dig into the studies and continually search for developments in the science.
