Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The War on Kids
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1974?
WEBSITE:
CITY: Washington
STATE: DC
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
http://www.law.edu/Fac-Staff/DrinanC/; Phone: 202-319-5508; https://www.law.gwu.edu/cara-drinan
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born c. 1974.
EDUCATION:Bowdoin College, B.A. (summa cum laude); Oxford University, M.A.; Stanford Law School, J.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and educator. Sullivan and Cromwell, Washington, DC, litigator; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, adjunct professor; Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, visiting professor and scholar-in-residence, 2006, professor, 2007—; George Washington University, Washington, DC, visiting professor.
AWARDS:Truman Scholarship, 1995; Marshall Scholarship, 1997.
WRITINGS
Contributor of articles to publications, including the Washington University Law Review, Georgia State University Law Review, Review of Law & Social Change, Harvard Journal on Legislation, and the Oklahoma Law Review.
SIDELIGHTS
Cara H. Drinan is a writer and educator based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree from Oxford University, and a law degree from Stanford Law School. Drinan worked for a Washington law firm before joining academia. She has taught at colleges, including George Mason University, Catholic University of America, and George Washington University. Drinan has written articles that have appeared in academic journals, including the Washington University Law Review, Georgia State University Law Review, Review of Law & Social Change, Harvard Journal on Legislation, and the Oklahoma Law Review.
In 2018, Drinan released her first book, The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way. This volume includes information on the harsh punishments for juveniles that have become normalized in recent decades. However, Drinan notes that new court cases may make for more reasonable sentencing. She also profiles individuals affected by the juvenile justice system’s flaws. Among those profiled is Terence Graham, who was detained by the state of Florida. For the crime he committed, which did not involve homicide, Graham was sentenced to life without parole. Graham later sued the state of Florida, arguing that his sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. The case was eventually tried before the Supreme Court. The court sided with Graham, making it illegal for judges to sentence juveniles who committed non-homicide crimes with life without parole. Drinan also focuses on the Miller v. Alabama case, which was similar to that of Graham v. Florida and was ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Drinan sees these court victories as a positive first step in juvenile justice reform, but she argues that there is much work still yet to be done. She notes that governments have been slow to implement reformed sentencing laws. Drinan discusses the role that a child’s race, economic situation, and life experiences affect the way they behave and suggests that juveniles have great potential to be reformed and live better lives after their punishments. In an interview with Julie Hawks, contributor to the Black Perspectives website, Drinan discussed the event that inspired the book. She stated: “In 2012, I met Terrence Graham at the Taylor Correctional Institute in Perry, Florida. Terrence’s case before the United States Supreme Court, Graham v. Florida (2010), had set in motion nationwide juvenile sentencing reform, and I wanted to meet the man at the heart of my research. Hearing his story moved me to write The War on Kids.” Drinan also told Hawks: “My hope is that The War on Kids will humanize the experience of youth incarceration … and prompt systematic reform.”
Trudy Taylor Smith, critic on the Englewood Review of Books website, offered a lengthy and favorable assessment of The War on Kids. Smith suggested: “Readers might easily be able to keep incarcerated children at arm’s length amid the rather academic policy analysis and the shocking but impersonal statistics Drinan offers throughout the first three chapters of her book. Yet her emotional fourth chapter on ‘life while down’ grounds the book in gut-wrenching personal narratives of individuals who were incarcerated as juveniles.” Smith concluded: “Delving into an enlightening analysis of such issues as the school to prison pipeline and racial disparities in rates of incarceration, The War on Kids is a timely read for any American Christian who wants to engage with the most pressing social issues of our day.” “Throughout the book, interviews with incarcerated youth add a necessary intimate, human touch,” remarked a Kirkus Reviews writer. The same writer described the book as “a clear, concise, well-organized call for action designed to reach a general audience.” Referring to Drinan, Laura Chanoux, reviewer in Booklist, commented: “Her well-researched and engaging book … is a necessary read.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 15, 2017, Laura Chanoux, review of The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way, p. 5.
Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2017, review of The War on Kids.
ONLINE
Black Perspectives, https://www.aaihs.org/ (November 25, 2017), Julie Hawks, author interview.
Catholic University of America website, http://www.law.edu/ (May 23, 2018), author faculty profile.
Englewood Review of Books, http://englewoodreview.org/ (February 1, 2018), Trudy Taylor Smith, review of The War on Kids.
George Washington University website, https://www.law.gwu.edu/ (May 23, 2018), author faculty profile.
Cara Drinan
Cara Drinan Title:
Visiting Professor of Law
Address:
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, District Of Columbia 20052
Email:
cdrinan@law.gwu.edu
Cara Drinan joins GW Law as a Visiting Professor of Law. Professor Drinan currently serves as a Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She received her JD from Stanford Law School, her MA from Oxford University, and her BA from Bowdoin College. Upon graduation from law school, Professor Drinan worked as a litigator at Sullivan and Cromwell, LLP in Washington, D.C. She has written widely in the field of criminal law, with a particular emphasis on access to justice, juvenile justice, and the death penalty. Professor Drinan will teach two sections of Criminal Law in the fall semester, and a seminar and reading group in the spring.
Education
BA, Bowdoin College; MA, Oxford University; JD, Stanford University
Cara H. Drinan – Professor of Law
Cara H. Drinan
Professor Drinan joined the faculty in 2006 as a visiting professor and scholar-in-residence. She joined the full-time faculty in the fall of 2007. She teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and a seminar on Gender, Law and Policy.
Before coming to the law school, Professor Drinan was an adjunct professor at George Mason University, where she taught Constitutional Law: Criminal Process and Rights. Prior to joining the academy, as a litigator in private practice, Professor Drinan worked on a wide range of issues, including federal regulatory compliance matters, contract disputes, employment matters, civil rights issues, a patent infringement suit, and an Oklahoma death penalty appeal.
Professor Drinan holds a B.A., summa cum laude, from Bowdoin College, an M.A. from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. She was a 1995 recipient of a Truman Scholarship and a 1997 recipient of a Marshall Scholarship.
Professor Drinan's scholarship focuses on criminal justice reform, with a particular emphasis on access to justice, juvenile justice and the death penalty.
Research and Writing
Select Publications
Misconstruing Graham & Miller, 91 WASH U. L. REV. 785 (2014).
Getting Real about Gideon: The Next Fifty Years of Enforcing the Right to Counsel, 70 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1309 (2013).
Lafler and Frye: Good News for Public Defense Litigation, 25 FED. SENTENCING REP. 138 (2012).
Clemency in a Time of Crisis, 28 Ga. St. Univ. L. Rev. 1123 (2012).
Graham on the Ground, 87 Wash. L. Rev.51 (2012).
The National Right to Counsel Act: A Congressional Solution to the Nation’s Indigent Defense Crisis, 47 Harv. J. on Legis. 487 (2010).
The Third Generation of Indigent Defense Litigation, 33 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 427 (2009).
The Revitalization of Ake: A Capital Defendant’s Right to Expert Assistance, 60 Okla. L. Rev. 283 (2007).
Select Academic & Professional Presentations
Invited Symposium Participant, Washington & Lee University School of Law (November 2012)(Gideon at Fifty)
Invited Symposium Participant, Georgia State University College of Law (January 2012)(Clemency in a Time of Crisis)
Roundtable Participant, AALS/ABA Criminal Justice Legal Educators Colloquium (October 2011)(Clemency in a Time of Crisis)
Panelist, Law & Society Conference (June 2011) Graham on the Ground
Invited Speaker, William & Mary Law School (March 2011)(The Indigent Defense Crisis: Reform at the Macro and Micro Level)
Invited Speaker, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (March 2011)(Why Lawyers Matter: Pursuing National Indigent Defense Reform)
Invited Speaker, American University, Washington College of Law (September 2010)(Paths to Indigent Defense Reform)
Invited Symposium Speaker, University of Tennessee College of Law (May 2010)(Systemic Litigation as a Solution for Excessive Workloads)
Invited Colloquium Speaker, University of Georgia Law School (October 2009)(The National Right to Counsel Act: A Legislative Solution to the Nation’s Indigent Defense Crisis)
Invited Speaker, AALS New Law Teachers Conference (June 2008-June 2011)(speaking on variety of teaching issues)
QUOTED: "In 2012, I met Terrence Graham at the Taylor Correctional Institute in Perry, Florida. Terrence’s case before the United States Supreme Court, Graham v. Florida (2010), had set in motion nationwide juvenile sentencing reform, and I wanted to meet the man at the heart of my research. Hearing his story moved me to write The War on Kids."
"My hope is that The War on Kids will humanize the experience of youth incarceration ... and prompt systematic reform."
The War on Kids: A New Book on American Juvenile Justice
By Julie Hawks November 25, 2017 1
This post is part of our blog series that announces the publication of selected new books in African American History and African Diaspora Studies. The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way was recently published by Oxford University Press.
***
The author of The War on Kids is Cara H. Drinan. Professor Drinan is a nationally recognized expert on the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, juvenile sentencing, and criminal justice reform. She earned her B.A. in Economics at Bowdoin College, an M.A. in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, and her J.D. at Stanford Law School. She is a past recipient of both a Truman and a Marshall Scholarship. After a brief period in private practice, Drinan joined the law faculty at the Catholic University of America in 2006. Drinan teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and seminars on criminal and constitutional law. Her research focuses on nationwide criminal justice reform, and her proposals entail all branches of government. She is especially interested in giving voice to those whose lives have been shaped by the mass incarceration phenomenon. Follow her on Twitter @CaraDrinan.
In 2003, when Terrence Graham was sixteen, he and three other teens attempted to rob a barbeque restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. Though they left with no money, and no one was seriously injured, Terrence was sentenced to die in prison for his involvement in that crime.
As shocking as Terrence’s sentence sounds, it is merely a symptom of contemporary American juvenile justice practices. In the United States, adolescents are routinely transferred out of juvenile court and into adult criminal court without any judicial oversight. Once in adult court, children can be sentenced without regard for their youth. Juveniles are housed in adult correctional facilities, they may be held in solitary confinement, and they experience the highest rates of sexual and physical assault among inmates. Until 2005, children convicted in America’s courts were subject to the death penalty; today, they still may be sentenced to die in prison-no matter what efforts they make to rehabilitate themselves. America has waged a war on kids.
In The War on Kids, Cara Drinan reveals how the United States went from being a pioneer to an international pariah in its juvenile sentencing practices. Academics and journalists have long recognized the failings of juvenile justice practices in this country and have called for change. Despite the uncertain political climate, there is hope that recent Supreme Court decisions may finally make those calls a reality. The War on Kids seizes upon this moment of judicial and political recognition that children are different in the eyes of the law. Drinan chronicles the shortcomings of juvenile justice by drawing upon social science, legal decisions, and first-hand correspondence with Terrence and others like him-individuals whose adolescent errors have cost them their lives. At the same time, The War on Kids maps out concrete steps that states can take to correct the course of American juvenile justice.
Drinan outlines a compelling and urgent case for U.S. juvenile justice reform. Her well-researched and engaging book, which includes discussion of case law as well as interviews with incarcerated children and their families, is a necessary read for understanding a major threat to youth in America today.” – Booklist
Julie Hawks: Books have creation stories. Please share with us the creation story of your book—those experiences, those factors, those revelations that caused you to research this specific area and produce this unique book.
Cara Drinan: In 2012, I met Terrence Graham at the Taylor Correctional Institute in Perry, Florida. Terrence’s case before the United States Supreme Court, Graham v. Florida (2010), had set in motion nationwide juvenile sentencing reform, and I wanted to meet the man at the heart of my research.
Hearing his story moved me to write The War on Kids. Like too many children in America, Terrence grew up in poverty, surrounded by violence and substance abuse. The state did nothing to lift Terrence out of that environment. And then it sentenced him to life without parole for a non-homicide offense he committed at 16, showing no regard for his youth or the mitigating circumstances of his childhood. He came of age in the terrifying space of an adult prison, witnessing sexual and physical assault and experiencing the dehumanization of life in a cell with no prospect for release.
Because of his victory before the United States Supreme Court, Terrence received a revised sentence of 25 years, and if he survives, he will be almost 40 when he is released. But there are thousands of individuals like Terrence across the country whose adolescent errors have cost them their lives and who deserve a second chance. My hope is that The War on Kids will humanize the experience of youth incarceration, expose it for the waste of human potential and public funds that it is, and prompt systemic reform.
QUOTED: "Her well-researched and engaging book ... is a necessary read."
5/17/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
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Print Marked Items
The War on Kids: How American
Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way
Laura Chanoux
Booklist.
114.4 (Oct. 15, 2017): p5.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way. By Cara H. Drinan. Nov. 2017.232p.
Oxford, 527.95 (9780190605551). 364.3.
Drinan outlines a compelling and urgent case for U.S. juvenile justice reform. A law professor at Catholic
University, Drinan was inspired by the Supreme Court case Graham v. Florida, which held that sentences of
life without parole for juveniles convicted of nonhomicide crimes constitute cruel and unusual punishment
in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Drinan tells plaintiff Terrence Graham's story as a way to understand
the realities of juvenile justice today. She explores the sociological factors that influence youth criminal
activity and the mitigating factors that are often ignored in adult courts. She examines the school-to-prison
pipeline, how courts treat juveniles from varying socioeconomic and racial backgrounds differently, and the
impact of transfer laws. In addition to looking frankly at the horrors of life in prison, Drinan outlines
positive steps that can be taken toward juvenile-justice reform. Her well-researched and engaging book,
which includes discussion of case law as well as interviews with incarcerated children and their families, is
a necessary read for understanding a major threat to youth in America today.--Laura Chanoux
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Chanoux, Laura. "The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way." Booklist, 15 Oct. 2017,
p. 5. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512776015/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fd9c14d8. Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A512776015
QUOTED: "Throughout the book, interviews with incarcerated youth add a necessary intimate, human touch."
"a clear, concise, well-organized call for action designed to reach a general audience."
5/17/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1526602790582 2/2
Drinan, Cara H.: THE WAR ON KIDS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Sept. 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Drinan, Cara H. THE WAR ON KIDS Oxford Univ. (Adult Nonfiction) $27.95 11, 1 ISBN: 978-0-19-
060555-1
An expert on juvenile sentencing and criminal justice reform asserts that the American juvenile justice
system, once a world leader, is now in dire need of reform."My aim in this book," writes Drinan (Law
Professor/Catholic Univ.), "is to shine a light on the reality of juvenile sentencing practices in America, to
humanize the experiences of those juveniles within the system, and to contribute to the momentum for
juvenile justice reform." She explores the dynamics of a system still meting out harsh treatment to child
defendants despite recent promising Supreme Court decisions on juvenile sentencing laws. In its Graham v.
Florida (2010) and Miller v. Alabama (2012) rulings, the court struck down a majority of the states' juvenile
sentencing laws, outlawing life-without-parole for juveniles who commit nonhomicide offenses and
mandating individualized sentencing for those children who commit even the most serious crimes.
However, as Drinan amply shows, implementation of these decisions has been unpredictable, slow, and
uneven. The author points to the roles played by race, poverty, incarceration of parents, and exposure to
violence in the lives of young offenders and examines the legal and policy decisions that determine their
fates. Drinan makes clear that she is not arguing that society give young offenders a pass but that "society
has an obligation to intervene in these children's lives long before they commit criminal acts." Throughout
the book, interviews with incarcerated youth add a necessary intimate, human touch. The author explains
the relevant Supreme Court cases, reveals the ways in which juveniles cope physically and mentally with
imprisonment, and considers prospects for reform. After depicting how states have failed and emphasizing
that "no child is born bad," Drinan outlines the steps that states can take to ensure age-appropriate
sentencing. A clear, concise, well-organized call for action designed to reach a general audience.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Drinan, Cara H.: THE WAR ON KIDS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A504217512/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2c1a571f.
Accessed 17 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A504217512
QUOTED: "Readers might easily be able to keep incarcerated children at arm’s length amid the rather academic policy analysis and the shocking but impersonal statistics Drinan offers throughout the first three chapters of her book. Yet her emotional fourth chapter on 'life while down' grounds the book in gut-wrenching personal narratives of individuals who were incarcerated as juveniles."
"Delving into an enlightening analysis of such issues as the school to prison pipeline and racial disparities in rates of incarceration, The War on Kids is a timely read for any American Christian who wants to engage with the most pressing social issues of our day."
Cara Drinan – The War on Kids [Review]
February 1, 2018 — 0 Comments
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“A Vision of Inclusion and Redemption”
A Review of
The War on Kids:
How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way
Cara Drinan
Hardback: Oxford UP, 2017
Buy Now: [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ]
Reviewed by Trudy Taylor Smith
In The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way, law professor Cara H. Drinan draws on both academic research and first-hand, personal accounts to expose the oppressive system that funnels our nation’s most vulnerable children and youth into prisons. More than one million kids are arrested every year across the country (4), and nearly 100,000 of them will be incarcerated alongside adults (73).
Although she writes as a legal scholar, Drinan manages to provide readers with a straightforward and accessible analysis of the complex matrix of legislation, case law, and legal procedures that make up the current landscape of American juvenile justice. She also draws upon the “personal experiences” of “individuals who were sent to prison as juveniles” in order to flesh out the human dimension of the crisis (xi).
The book begins by charting America’s trajectory from “pioneer” of juvenile courts to international juvenile justice “pariah” (12). The juvenile court system was invented in the United States in the late 1800s, “premised on the notion that childhood is a period of dependency and risk” and that the state thus has an obligation to assist children who come into conflict with the law “by providing social services” that would facilitate their rehabilitation (4). This approach shaped the development of similar systems around the world, and it is supported by modern psychological research demonstrating that “children are both less culpable for their crimes and more amenable to reform than adults” (7).
Yet in a fairly short amount of time, several factors coalesced to create a situation in which the United States became “the world’s largest jailer, sending more people to prison… for longer periods” than any other nation on earth (23), and imposing harsher sentences on children than anywhere else in the developed world (4). Until 2005, we were “the only developed country that subjected children to the death penalty, and today we are the only nation” sentencing minors to serve life in prison without parole (4).
The pendulum swing toward harsher sentencing practices for children during the late twentieth century parallels a shift in the American criminal justice system as a whole, toward a “posture of fear and containment” that manifests in “generally applicable tough-on-crime policies” (19). Specifically, Drinan notes a trend toward “determinate sentencing schemes” in which judges’ discretion to evaluate the specific crimes and circumstances of the defendants in front of them and to impose individualized sentences is often replaced by one-size-fits-all legislation that imposes mandatory minimum sentences and “three strike” rules. She explains that these predetermined sentences are legislated with adults in mind, but criminal offenders under the age of eighteen are often exposed to the same harsh sentences because of “juvenile transfer laws” that allow (or in certain cases, require) children as young as six to be tried as adults (20).
Against this political and legal backdrop, Drinan then delves into the tragic stories of individual children to demonstrate the ways that “race, poverty, exposure to violence in the home, and having an incarcerated parent” effectively place many children “on a trajectory toward crime” almost from birth (29). Growing up in an impoverished family increases the likelihood of delinquency, and in some cases, statistically guarantees it. Disturbingly, the current “needs-based delinquency” model also means that “children from low-income homes do not have to be as ‘guilty’ as those from families of means to enter and remain in the juvenile justice system” (33). Discrimination on the basis of race is evident as well: Drinan points out that “in some cities, black Americans are arrested at 10 times the rate of non-black citizens” (38).
Readers might easily be able to keep incarcerated children at arm’s length amid the rather academic policy analysis and the shocking but impersonal statistics Drinan offers throughout the first three chapters of her book. Yet her emotional fourth chapter on “life while down” grounds the book in gut-wrenching personal narratives of individuals who were incarcerated as juveniles (66). These inmates’ letters to Drinan expose the stark realities of day-to-day prison life for children who find themselves behind bars: a nightmare in which survival often means choosing between victimization or using violence themselves. It took a considerable effort to force myself to read the disturbing accounts of prison rape, a virtually unavoidable rite of passage for juvenile offenders entering adult prisons. Everything in me wanted to put the book down rather than sob my way through the story of a teenage inmate committing suicide in solitary confinement as fellow prisoners in nearby cells screamed for help that never came. So often, it is easier to look away from suffering than to do the hard work of bearing witness; entering in; facing the responsibilities that awareness brings with it. Yet these stories–these children–cry out for our attention, and our response.
Drinan spends the last three chapters of her book pointing to heartening signs of much-needed reform in the juvenile justice system, explaining the urgent work that remains to be done, and laying out a roadmap for how to restore the juvenile justice system to its original purpose of protecting vulnerable children and equipping them to live well in society.
Delving into an enlightening analysis of such issues as the school to prison pipeline and racial disparities in rates of incarceration, The War on Kids is a timely read for any American Christian who wants to engage with the most pressing social issues of our day. As a Christ follower longing to bring the justice of God’s kingdom into being, I was deeply compelled by Drinan’s call to actively wage “a war for kids” (133) in order to replace our current “punitive, counterproductive” system with one that does right by the most vulnerable members of our society: children who have grown up in an environment of poverty and abuse (154). As scripture makes clear, our response to these children constitutes our response to Jesus himself. And as Drinan argues, caring for them ultimately challenges us to move beyond “legal and policy questions” to the heart of the gospel, countering “the politics of fear” with “a vision of inclusion and redemption” (157).
——————-
Trudy Taylor Smith lives with her husband in Vancouver, BC, where she works as a legal assistant at Community Legal Assistance Society and the BC Human Rights Clinic. She is the author of God in Disguise, a memoir about living in a Muslim slum in India, and she blogs about faith, justice, and culture at trudydsmith.com.