Juvenile Justice 

Documents and pleadings which may be helpful to attorneys litigating or considering the litigation of disability law related cases are available by following the links below.

These documents do not constitute legal advice. Anyone engaged in legal action should consult with an attorney. Attorneys should make their own independent judgments. Local laws vary and the law may have changed since these documents were written. Litigants should fully research any claims or defenses before making them.

 

	Sort By: Title		Date
	Psychopharmacology for children and adolescents		3/1/2001
		An overview of issues in the administration of psychiatric medications to children and adolescents.

The plaintiff class, represented by the Center for Childrens Advocacy (CCA) at the University of Connecticut Law School and CPR, entered into a Settlement Agreement with the state of Connecticut to establish community based programs to divert youth with mental illness and serious emotional difficulties from detention and long term residential placement (2005). The complaint and other information about the case can be found at CCA's web site.

CPR, the Committee for Public Counsel Services and the Childrens Law Center have challenged the constitutionality of a Massachusetts statute that allows the Department of Youth Services, with court review, to extend commitments of some youth from their 18th to their 21st birthdays. The case was filed directly in the state's Supreme Judicial Court. A single justice of the reported questions to the full bench. A copy of the petitioners' brief (with some material redacted) is attached.

The Massachusetts (SJC) has held that a state law that allows extension of commitments to DYS after 18th birthday is unconstitutional. The opinion appears below.