top of page

Services for Attorneys

Working alongside attorneys:

 

​

​

  • ASRS provides invaluable insight into adjustment, prison culture, and the reentry process with former Juvenile Lifers.

  • Expert testimony, consultation, and reports on matters concerning the prison system and reentry.

  • Mitigation specialists within defense teams, conducting interviews, analyzing records, and writing social history reports.

  • Moreover, as reentry specialists, they assist clients in developing Comprehensive Reentry Plans, preparing for Parole Board interviews, and accessing essential resources post-release. Many of these specialists, drawing from their own experiences, advocate for justice, provide compassionate support, and foster education to empower individuals transitioning back into society.

Consultation and Expert Witnesses

The ASRS consultants' and expert witnesses lived experiences may include:

  • Early childhood trauma

  • Unmitigated adverse childhood experiences (ACE)

  • Including psychological, and/or physical

  • Sexual abuse

  • Witnessing domestic violence

  • Living with family members who were substance abusers

  • Suffered from mental illness

  • Ideas of suicide

  • And/or were formerly incarcerated.

ASRS's consultant and expert witness is considered someone with the following lived experiences:

  • Adolescence sentences to an extreme sentence

  • Paroled and or re-sentenced to a lesser number of years

  • Discharged from parole and sentence

  • Non-recidivist

  • No outstanding warrants and or under investigation

How ASRS integrates with legal proceedings

  • Specialized team approach: ASRS facilitates attorneys in representing children in adult courts facing possible life or extreme sentence with adverse childhood experiences (ACE).

  • Trial Defense Guidelines: ASRS's team approach aligns with the CFSY Trial Defense Guidelines endorsed by national organizations to ensure effective representation for children facing life sentences.

  • Mitigation and individualized sentencing: ASRS supports attorneys in presenting mitigation and advocating for individualized sentencing for children based on their developmental differences, as mandated by the Supreme Court's decision in Miller v. Alabama.

  • Team composition: The guidelines require a minimum team of four members including two attorneys, one investigator, and one mitigation specialist with specific experience in representing child clients and handling sentencing mitigation.-

  • Ethical considerations: All team members must prioritize the child client's interests while considering the concerns of caretakers, limit caseloads to ensure thorough representation, and be compensated appropriately for the responsibility of representing a child facing a possible life sentence.

bottom of page