Tate briefs filed

On March 4, 2002, several briefs were filed on the Lionel Tate case:

Juvenile Law Center filed a brief, along with the Center on Children and the Law, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, the Children and Family Justice Center, Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, Juvenile Law Clinic of the District of Columbia School of Law, National Mental Health Association, the Sentencing Project, Youth Law Center, Law Professor Robert E. Shepard, Jr. and Psychology Professor Laurence Steinberg.

The brief argued in the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Florida that the conviction of 12-year-old Lionel Tate for the "wrestling" murder of his six-year-old friend had numerous errors, including failure to acknowledge the infancy defense or issues related to Lionel's competence to stand trial. Sending Tate to criminal court violated principles of due process and equal protection, and his sentence of life without parole constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

The Florida Center on Children and the Law filed a brief, along with the Center for Florida's Children, Juvenile Law Center, Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition, Public Justice Center, Southern Center for Human Rights, Southern Juvenile Defender Center, Law Professors Michael Dale and Abbe Smith, and Robert Weaver which argued that in convicting Lionel, Florida courts mis-applied the felony-murder doctrine and the states criminal child abuse laws.

To obtain the briefs, visit Juvenile Law Center's website at: http://www.jlc.org/home/JLC@Work/juvenilejusticeprojects.htm