14-year-old arrested after dad finds murder contract that the youth allegedly wrote

A 14-year-old Florida youth has been arrested after allegedly entering into a murder contract with a friend and then leaving the document in his room, where his father found it. Port St. Lucie police say the agreement between the unidentified teen and a friend said the friend was to get…

Mar 9, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

Police award helped teen offender reinvent himself as a future law student

Once a high-school dropout and known marijuana dealer, Jonathan Reynolds, didn’t appear to be destined for career success. Despite his record as a convicted felon, the 21-year-old is now about to graduate from college and expects to start law school in August at the University of South Carolina, reports the…

Mar 4, 2015 3:10 PM CST

ABA urges adequate legal representation for unaccompanied immigrant minors

Mary Ryan, co-chair of the ABA’s Working Group on Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants, spoke passionately to the House of Delegates Monday about the plight of the youngest who find themselves in removal proceedings. Ryan was advocating the passage of Resolution 113, supporting appointed counsel for unaccompanied children and special training for…

Feb 9, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Should juveniles be shackled in court or sentenced to life without parole? ABA leaders weigh in

Corrected: Delegates at the ABA’s Midyear Meeting debated the ethics and utility of the practice of shackling juvenile offenders in court. Resolution 107A, urging governments to adopt a presumption against use of these restraints and permitting judges to consider the issue after an in-person hearing, ultimately passed. Criminal Justice Section…

Feb 9, 2015 11:40 AM CST

Early involvement, education are keys to keeping kids on track for productive lives

Feb 1, 2015 3:50 AM CST

Arrested Florida teen helps save life of officer booking him into jail; see the video

A Florida teen is being honored for helping save the life of a police officer who was booking him into jail. Jamal Rutledge, 17, will be honored on Jan. 21 for helping save the life of Officer Franklin Foulks, who collapsed off his chair on Sept. 10 as he was…

Jan 15, 2015 8:35 AM CST

Boy, 9, is arrested for failure to appear on gum-stealing charge; prosecutor regrets ‘mistake’

An Idaho prosecutor is expressing regret after his office issued an arrest warrant for a 9-year-old boy who twice failed to appear in court on a charge of stealing a pack of gum. Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Barry McHugh issued a statement saying his office’s decision to issue an arrest…

Jan 13, 2015 6:43 AM CST

State supreme court nixes lifetime registration for juvenile sex offenders

A lifetime registration requirement for juvenile sex offenders is unconstitutional, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently found. According to the Morning Call, the 5-1 opinion held that the state’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act denies juveniles a chance to prove they are unlikely to commit more sex crimes. The case…

Jan 5, 2015 3:27 PM CST

FBI director: Agent’s fake claim to be AP reporter ‘appropriate’; news agency outraged

The FBI did not only plant a fake Associated Press article on the MySpace page of a teenage suspect in a high school bomb-threats case: An agent pretended to be an AP reporter in discussing the article with the suspect during a 2007 investigation. FBI Director James Comey defended the…

Nov 7, 2014 12:35 PM CST

FBI faked Associated Press news story to identify teen suspect in high school bomb-threats case

Seeking to download law enforcement malware onto the computer of a teenager suspected of making bomb threats against a Washington state high school, the FBI admittedly faked a news story. Then the FBI planted the bogus article about the threats, which purported to have been published by the Associated Press,…

Oct 29, 2014 11:50 AM CDT

Boy, 10, is charged as an adult with homicide in death of woman, 90

A 10-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with homicide in the death of a 90-year-old Pennsylvania woman. Authorities said the child told state police that he killed Helen Novak during a visit to his grandfather in the Honesdale area on Saturday, at a home in which the victim…

Oct 14, 2014 9:50 AM CDT

Truancy crackdown is linked to spike in youth confinement rate in West Virginia

A West Virginia task force is considering alternatives to juvenile confinement after a crackdown on truancy may have contributed to a spike in the number of youths confined to juvenile facilities. Though West Virginia has one of the lowest juvenile crime rates in the country, it outpaced every other state…

Oct 14, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Teen’s Facebook photos with Jesus statue lead to desecration charge

A 14-year-old Pennsylvania teen has been charged with desecration of a venerated object after apparently posting Facebook photos showing him engaged in a simulated sex act with a statue of Jesus. The Everett teen was charged under a rarely used 1972 law, report the Smoking Gun, the Raw Story, the…

Sep 12, 2014 9:00 AM CDT

Parents make bullying claim over mug shot T-shirt of teen worn to high school soccer game

When Kevin Rittenhouse’s teenage son was caught using marijuana with friends last year, his dad tried to do the right thing and turned the teen, a member of the soccer team at his Indiana high school, in to police. “Authorities confiscated his phone and that’s how they came up with…

Sep 11, 2014 12:30 PM CDT

Teens charged in alleged school shooting plot; probe included Internet surveillance

Two South Pasadena, California, teens are facing juvenile charges of making criminal threats in connection with an alleged plot for a mass shooting at their school. The youths, ages 16 and 17, were arraigned in a closed hearing on Wednesday, report the Los Angeles Times and the Pasadena Star-News. After…

Aug 21, 2014 1:41 PM CDT