Juvenile Justice & Diminished Criminal Culpability

Authors

Mitchell F. Crusto, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law

Abstract

When regulating the bad, albeit illegal, choices made by minors, the law is conflicted. On the one hand, we have a clear national policy to ensure the safety of and to promote the positive development of our young people, yet we simultaneously criminalize minors who make bad choices. This conundrum raises a quintessential jurisprudential flaw in our legal system: We lack a unifying, overarching principle that guides the law’s relationship with minors. In a companion piece, I pose and explore such a unifying principle, which I coin as the “best interest of the minor” standard (“BIMS”). Consequently, this Article applies that standard to a contemporary legal problem that is plaguing our society: the negative effects of the “status” crime of minors in the simple, non-violent possession of marijuana. It posits the thesis that the offense of minors in the simple, non-violent possession of marijuana should be decriminalized. Concurrently, we should redirect our resources to promote abstention, treat the negative impacts of drug abuse, and promote positive, healthy alternatives to drug abuse.

Recommended Citation

Mitchell F. Crusto, Juvenile Justice & Diminished Criminal Culpability, 78 U. Mia. L. Rev. 670 (2024)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol78/iss3/3