Washington high court charts less punitive path on juvenile justice
With the Monschke decision, the state Supreme Court expanded the definition of youth in murder cases. No other court has done so.
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Washington State’s Supreme Court Building, also known as the Temple of Justice, photographed on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, from Heritage Park in Olympia, Wash. (Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut)
Liberal marijuana laws, an early endorsement for same-sex marriage and our general embrace of individual initiative have led lots of people to see Washington as an outpost of freewheeling progressivism. But when it comes to criminal justice, we’ve been among the most punitive places on the planet.