High Court's Montgomery Ruling Fuels Demand For Pro Bono

Law360, New York (February 25, 2016, 2:59 PM EST) -- In 2012, the United States Supreme Court held that sentencing juveniles to mandatory life without the possibility of parole violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against disproportionate sentencing schemes. Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012). Today, because of Miller, when a prosecutor seeks the unusually harsh sentence of life in prison for a minor who has been convicted of a homicide crime, the presumption is against life. It is the prosecutor's burden to establish that a life without the possibility of parole is appropriate, considering the Miller factors, which include the child's family, education, mental and physical health, and maturity at the time of the incident....

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