Maia Carlson
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kimberly Thomas
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Law / Law
Program: UROP
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors: Kimberly Thomas, Maia Carlson, Asma Gundy
Abstract
This project is based on the precedent set by the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case Miller v. Alabama, which ruled that people under the age of 18 (17 and under) could not be mandatorily sentenced to life without parole, as it was a violation of their 8th amendment rights. In the summer of 2022, the cases People v. Parks and People v. Poole (pending decision) extend that protection in Miller to people 18 years of age in the state of Michigan. This project takes old felony murder cases from the 1960s and 1970s and puts together sentencing appeals for them on the basis of Miller and Parks. Depending on the client, the circumstances of the case, and availability of the materials, teams of law students and undergrads have different processes and filings in order to reach a resentencing hearing. At the date of writing, one client has been released from prison. This work is extremely important as it is what the practical side to new case law or major policy decisions looks like. It is not enough to just change the law; changing it only offers a new opportunity to work within it. We are using new and updated laws to reflect a more modern version of our institutions, one client at a time. This work also relates to the larger context of the criminal justice system. We hope to see more and more decisions that break down the toxic system created by rigid and indiscriminate sentencing guidelines. In the realm of juvenile justice in particular, this casework helps to reinforce decisions like Miller that differentiate between children and adults on the basis of cognitive and environmental factors.
