Abstract
The Note proceeds in two Parts. The remainder of the Introduction presents a closed door: the Supreme Court’s hesitancy, to date, to find juvenile- life-without-parole sentences unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. After exploring the contours of the closed Door, the Introduction turns to an open window: education law. This, I argue, may be wielded to attack the lawfulness of juvenile-life-without-parole sentences on wholly nonconstitutional grounds. The Introduction concludes with remarks regarding this Note’s relevance and timeliness. Part I tracks the Note’s central argument, premise by premise, that state compulsory education laws and juvenilelife- without-parole sentences are wholly incompatible. Part II anticipates objections to the argument, responds, and attempts to fill any lingering logical gaps. I then conclude by suggesting contexts beyond the scope of this Note in which the relationship between compulsory education laws and prisoners’ rights might prove useful.
Recommended Citation
Shannon Lewry,
Incorrigible Students: A Criminal Oxymoron?,
93
Notre Dame L. Rev.
1393
(2018).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndlr/vol93/iss3/10