NACDL - Communicating with a Juvenile Client: JTIP Lesson on Interviewing and Counseling Youth [webinar]

Communicating with a Juvenile Client: JTIP Lesson on Interviewing and Counseling Youth [webinar]

Age Matters: Strategies for Representing Juveniles in Adult Court

Critical to representing juvenile clients is developing an understanding that although juveniles are in the adult system, they are not simply miniature adults and there are many unique challenges to their representation. The session will help defenders become familiar with developmental features of adolescence that may impact communication with the youth client. Additionally, defenders will learn strategies to accommodate, enhance or overcome developmental barriers to successful communication and interviewing.

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This webinar, presented with the assistance of the National Juvenile Defender Center, utilizes their Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP)* lesson to discuss how to effectively interview and counsel a juvenile client in order to pursue the client's expressed interests, enhance the client's understanding of their case and consequences of being in the adult system, and develop a strong attorney-client relationship.

In a series of decisions involving youth facing criminal charges, the United States Supreme Court has recognized the legitimacy and relevance of scientific research relating to adolescent brain and behavioral development. These opinions, and the underlying science, confirm that there are biological differences between adolescents (defined as 10-24 years old) and adults. Adolescents tend to lack impulse and emotional control, are more susceptible to peer and other external influences, they generally do not engage in long term planning, and have difficulty foreseeing and appreciating consequences and assessing risks. Abuse, neglect, mental illness, and trauma can exacerbate these challenges. Because adolescence is a transitory time, young offenders are more likely to "age out" of errant behavior and are more amenable to rehabilitation. In this webinar series presented in partnership with the National Juvenile Defender Center, Juvenile Law Center, and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, presenters seek to help educate lawyers on how these differences factor into their communication with, and representation of, young clients. Lawyers will be taught about ways to contextualize youth behavior and help judges understand why a defendant may have engaged in a specific act (ranging from the underlying criminal act to waiving Miranda). Lawyers will be exposed to research, law, and investigative tips to help the court educate judges so they can appreciate how the differences between adolescents and adults should factor into every decision the court makes.

Speakers: Kristin Henning, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic, Georgetown Law; and Dr. Jennifer Woolard, Associate Professor of Psychology and Interim Director of Research at the Center for Social Justice, Georgetown University

Presented by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Foundation for Criminal Justice in partnership with The National Juvenile Defender Center, Juvenile Law Center, and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
Supported by funding from the Foundation for Criminal Justice and the Ford Foundation

See more sessions in this series

Check out the preceding series, Representing Juveniles at Sentencing in Adult Court in the Post-Roper, -Graham, and -Miller Era

* The Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) is a comprehensive juvenile defense training curriculum with comprehensive trial advocacy strategies and substantive juvenile law, designed to provide juvenile defenders with the skills necessary to create excellence in representing youth. Developed to meet the training needs of both national and local audiences, JTIP is a dynamic, flexible program with 40 lessons which trainers are encouraged to adapt to include key state and local statutes, court rules, and case law. To encourage interactive and dynamic learning, JTIP includes customizable lectures, exercises, hypothetical case scenarios, discussion questions, and other training tools.