Youthful Offenders and Mental Health: Insights from Judge Jay Blitzman

In this episode, Elizabeth Kelley talks with her guest, Judge Jay Blitzman. The two discuss the intersection of youthful offenders and mental health issues in the criminal justice system,  the shift away from using the term "juvenile", and the ongoing challenges in achieving due process for youthful offenders.

 

In this episode, they discuss:

• The relevance of including a chapter on youthful offenders in a book about representing people with mental disabilities, and why understanding brain development is crucial for criminal defense lawyers.

• The shift away from using the term "juvenile" due to its pejorative connotations and the preference for terms like "children," "youth," and "young people" to support a more positive and strength-based approach.

• The ongoing challenges in providing adequate due process protections for youthful offenders and the need for a holistic approach to their legal representation.

• The importance of developing trust and effective communication strategies with youthful clients, especially those who have experienced trauma and distrust the legal system.

• Observations on effective advocacy by criminal defense lawyers in youth courts, highlighting the importance of relationship-building, client-directed advocacy, and ensuring that youthful clients feel truly heard and represented.

 

Hon. Jay D. Blitzman, (retired) served as the First Justice of the Massachusetts Middlesex Juvenile Court. Prior to his judicial appointment he was a public defender who was a co-founder and the first director of the Roxbury Youth Advocacy Project, an interdisciplinary public defender’s unit which was the template for the creation of the statewide Massachusetts Youth Advocacy Division. He was also a co-founder of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ).  Since his judicial retirement, he has consulted for the Sixth Amendment Center (6AC) and served as the interim Executive Director of Massachusetts Advocates for Children and serves MAC as an Emeritus Policy Advisor. Jay consults on juvenile, criminal and child welfare issues, mentors attorneys, and holds teaching positions at Harvard Law School (Trial Advocacy), Northeastern Law School (Juvenile Law) and Boston College Law (The Cradle to Prison Pipeline). Jay is also on the faculty at the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior focusing on late teen and emerging adult issues (CLBB- M.G.H. & Harvard Medical School. He also was an affiliate of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Jay writes and presents frequently on a wide array of issues related to advancing equity and deconstructing the cradle to prison pipeline. Recent articles include,  Cheating The Evidence To Get To Best Interest (Family Court Review, Hofstra Law 2024),  Let The Sunshine In (ABA Criminal Justice 2024), Let’s Follow The Science on Late Adolescence” (ABA Criminal Justice 2022), The State of Juvenile Justice 2018-2024 (ABA Criminal Justice), Shutting Down The School to Prison Pipeline (ABA Human Rights 2021,  Open The Doors (Mass. L. Rev. 2021),  Justice for Some: A Tale of Two Americas (Civic Right Institute Juvenile Justice Update 2020), and Deconstructing The School to Prison Pipeline (BBA Journal 2018).  

Jay serves on the boards of directors of Discovering Justice, Massachusetts Mental Health Advisory Committee, and is a member of the advisory boards of Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) ,UTEC, and Northeastern Law School’s Cradle to Prison and Salus Populi  (Social Determinants of Public Health). Jay is also a Massachusetts Advocates for Justice Fellow working with More Than Words (MTW). On November 2, 2024 Jay received the Massachusetts Psychological Association’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.  In 2023 Jay was the first recipient of CfJJ’s Youth Juvenile Justice Icon award and was the 2019 ABA Livingston Hall Juvenile Justice Award. Other recognition includes being the first person to receive the MBA Juvenile & Child Welfare Section Award, the 2023 Boston College Law School Holland Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lowell 100 award, the Judge Paul Chernoff Servants of Justice Award and the Rebecca Pries Adolescent Consultation Services Indispensable Friend Award. Massachusetts’ public defender system annually presents annually the Jay Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy.