On September 17, 2021, Catholic Law faculty members met for the first in-person Faculty Research Series event of the new academic year. Hosted by Professor Cara H. Drinan, Director of Faculty Research, this month’s program featured a presentation from Drinan, herself, on juvenile sentencing reform and recent Supreme Court case law in that area.

Drinan presented a forthcoming paper, “Jones v. Mississippi and The Court’s Quiet Burial of the Miller Trilogy”, which explores implications of Jones v. Mississippi (2021) in the juvenile sentencing context. Drinan reviewed the Miller Trilogy (Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, and Miller v. Alabama) as the core set of cases that were methodologically important in juvenile justice reform, before outlining the complications in implementing Miller and how Jones effectively shut the door on Miller. Drinan concluded with her thoughts on the future of litigation in this area despite the Jones decision, highlighting two areas in particular: as-applied challenges to extreme juvenile sentences and a new standard to evaluate juvenile conditions of confinement.

The Faculty Research Series will be held monthly. Please check back on the News and Events page for updates regarding upcoming events.