Published On: December 1, 1999
Categories Gangs, Juvenile justice legal issues, Trying juveniles as adults
This is a December 13, 1999 Daily Journal article on Proposition 21, a voter inititative that dramatically changed juvenile law in California — primarily by making it easier to try youth in the adult system and by increasing sentences and enhancements for crimes. The Youth Law Center was actively engaged in trying to defeat the measure on the grounds that voters could not possibly understand what they were voting on; out of opposition to making such complex changes on a yes or no vote; and out of concern for the “adultification” provisions contained in the initiative. The opposition was underfunded and unable to overcome the perception that the measure would help to stem gang crime, and it was enacted in 2000. This article features YLC staff attorney Sue Burrell voicing concerns about Proposition 21.
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