ABSTRACT
In many parts of the world, knowledge of child and adolescent development is playing an increasingly important role in shaping our legal response to crimes committed by minors. In the United States, this trend has been largely driven in recent years by a series of Supreme Court cases that rely on social and neurological science to conclude that the Constitution requires the law to take account of children’s immaturity in responding to juvenile crime. Much of this emerging law focuses on culpability and sentencing, but developmental considerations are also driving reforms aimed at ensuring that minors receive their constitutionally required procedural protections in law enforcement contexts such as interrogation and trial.
