2018 Advocating for Youth Charged with First Degree Murder Notebook

165 Pages·2017·6.23 MB·English

Advocating for Youth Charged with First Degree Murder
March 9, 2018 / Chapel Hill, NC

Cosponsored by the UNC‐Chapel Hill School of Government
& Office of Indigent Defense Services

AGENDA

Friday March 9, 2018

8:00 to 8:45am Check‐in

8:45 to 9:00 Welcome
Austine Long, Program Attorney
UNC School of Government, Chapel Hill, NC

9:00 to 10:15 Adolescent Development and Behavior [75 min.]
Dr. Cindy Cottle, Ph.D, Psychological Services, Raleigh, NC

10:15 to 10:30 Break

10:30 to 11:45 Representing 13, 14 and 15 Year Olds [75 min]
Aleta Ballard, Attorney, Smithfield, NC

11:45 to 12:30 Lunch (provided in building) *

12:30 to 2:15 Preparing for Sentencing [105 min.]
Tessa Hale, Assistant Director, Carolina Justice Policy Center, Durham, NC
Carl Ivarsson, Attorney at Law, Fayetteville, NC

2:15 to 245 Break

2:45 to 3:30 Parole Hearings [45 min]
Ben Finholt, Staff Attorney,
North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Raleigh, NC

3:30 to 4:15 Miller Cases: The Future [45 min.]
David Andrews, Assistant Appellate Defender,
Office of the Appellate Defender, Durham, NC

CLE HOURS: 5.75

* IDS employees may not claim reimbursement for lunch

Adolescent 
Development 
and Behavior
2/26/2018
Moving Forward:
Advanced Concepts in Adolescent
Brain Development
Cindy C. Cottle, Ph.D.
Clinical & Forensic Psychologist
Agenda
• Review of Adolescent Brain Development
• Mental Illness, Disability, Substance Use, and
Exposure to Maltreatment/Trauma
• The Use of Neuroscience in Legal Proceedings
• Cautions, Limitations, and Advice
Adolescent
Brain Development
1
2/26/2018
As a result of the chemical and structural
changes in the brain, we know that:
 Adolescents do not process information as
efficiently as adults
 Adolescents’ capacities to weigh risks and long-
term consequences are still developing
 Older adolescents may be as capable as adults
of making decisions in some contexts
 Adolescents are more sensitive to emotion and
social evaluation
Frontal Lobe
Limbic System
2
2/26/2018
The Neuron:
Transmitter of Information
Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters
3
2/26/2018
Changes in the Brain
Beginning from the back and moving
To the front of the brain, there is:
1. Overproduction of grey matter
2. Pruning of grey matter
3. Myelination (increase in white
matter)
At the same time, there are changes
in hormones and neurotransmitter levels,
as well as the sensitivity of receptor sites.
Changes in the Brain
Brain Development
These structural and
chemical changes in the
brain are affected by the
environment.
Learning occurs when the
connections between
essential areas of the
brain become stronger.
4
2/26/2018
The Goal:
Develop Executive Functioning Skills
Emotionally Driven
The connections between the
Amygdala and the prefrontal cortex
are not strong.
Also, neurotransmitters
are more active in the amygdala
and limbic system regions during
adolescence. Therefore, it is a
period of emotion and drama!
How well do adolescents reason during
emotionally charged situations?
The Reward Circuit
 The part of the brain that
causes a person to
remember and repeat an
action
 Affected by substances in
that drugs trigger craving
for euphoria or pain relief.
 “Mesolimbic dopaminergic
reward pathway”
During adolescence there is an increase in the activity of the neural
circuits using dopamine, a neurotransmitter central in creating our
drive for reward.
5
2/26/2018
Risk Taking and
Self Control
Adolescents perceive rewards and risks of a situation or behavior differently
They place more emphasis on reward (limbic system), including peer
acceptance
They are less reasoned in their decision making (prefrontal cortex)
They are not as efficient or quick to make these decisions
The consequences of their behavior affect teens differently: they are less
sensitive to negative consequences (chemically) and more sensitive to
rewards (reward center of brain)
They do not have as many experiential memories to guide them
Summary of Adolescent Brain
Development Research
Effect of Adolescent Brain
Development on Behavior
Ineffective levels of Moody,  less attentive, 
neurotransmitters ineffective  problem 
solving, & more risky 
behaviors
Impulsivity, “gut” 
Less reliance on frontal lobes
in decision making reactions; problems 
ignoring distractions
Less efficient connections, Less reliance on 
such as those to and from
memory centers of the brain experience and 
memory in decision 
making
6
2/26/2018
Implications
Adolescents have different needs than children and adults
in terms of sleep, physical activity, exposure to activities
and risks
Adolescents learn differently: better with rewards rather
than punishments or removal of rewards
Adolescents benefit from skill development, both
behaviorally and through structural changes in the brain
Adolescents need activing teaching of “thinking” and
resiliency skills
The effect of stressful environments on adolescent brain
development is significant but can be reversed with early
intervention
Mental Illness, Disability,
Substance Use and Trauma
Normal Brain Development
7