Youth Matters: Roper, Graham, J.D.B., Miller, and the New Juvenile Jurisprudence

The last decade has given rise to an unprecedented series of decisions that relies upon common sense, science, and social science to require that youth be considered differently than adults in criminal procedure and sentencing matters. In Roper v. Simmons,¹ Graham v. Florida,² J.D.B. v. North Carolina,³ and Miller v. Alabama,⁴ the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a series of decisions that calls for transformational change in the way that children are treated in criminal procedure and sentencing matters.