United States Supreme Court No. 07-8436 (2008)

The National Center for Youth Law join twelve other Amici organizations in this case to urge the United States Supreme Court to grant certiorari to review a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence without the possibility of parole imposed on a 12-year-old child in the State of South Carolina.  The Amici Brief analyzes why such a lengthy mandatory sentence that does not take into consideration the age of the child at the time of the offense violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the United States Constitution.  Relying upon the holding in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), that age is a determinant factor in assessing the culpability of juvenile offenders under the Eighth Amendment in capital cases, the Amici organization in Pittman ask the Court to accept review of this case to clarify that the excessive and mandatory sentence at issue is unconstitutional. 

The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari without comment on April 14, 2008.

 The Juvenile Law Center is counsel for Amici organizations including in addition to The National Center for Youth Law, The Center for Children’s Law and Policy, The Center on Children and Families, The Children and Family Justice Center, The Child Welfare League of America, The National Association of Counsel for Children, The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, The National Juvenile Defender Center, the National Juvenile Justice Network, The Sentencing Project, The Southern Juvenile Defender Center, The W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity and the Youth Law Center.

Counsel: Marsha Levick (Counsel of Record), Mia Carpiniello and Sherry Orbach, Juvenile Law Center, Counsel for Amici Curiae. Pat Arthur, NCYL.