Youth Justice Action Month: A Call to Fairness and Accountability
Every October, we observe Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM) to uplift the principles of fairness, second chances, and system accountability for young people. This year, those principles are being tested in a case before the Ohio Supreme Court—In re D.T.—that could reshape how justice works for youth across the state.
What is at Stake?
Under Ohio law, every case involving a person under 18 begins in juvenile court. In some cases, prosecutors may seek to transfer—or “bindover”—a youth to adult court. This decision determines whether a young person faces age-appropriate rehabilitation or adult prosecution and decades-long imprisonment, which has devastating and lifelong consequences on a young person.
D.T., a 14-year-old child, was transferred to adult court and later pled guilty. The Eighth District Court of Appeals appropriately overturned that transfer after finding the juvenile court failed to follow Ohio’s competency statute (e.g., ensuring a person’s mental ability to participate in and understand the legal process) and made serious procedural errors. Now, the State of Ohio has asked the Supreme Court to go even further—by taking away a child’s ability to appeal those kinds of errors if they plead guilty in adult court.
Why This Matters
The right to appeal is one of the most essential safeguards in our legal system. It ensures that mistakes can be corrected and that no child is forced to bear the lifelong consequences of a flawed process. Without this right, a child who is wrongly transferred to adult court would have no way to challenge that error.
Under current law, the state already holds an advantage: prosecutors can immediately appeal when they disagree with a juvenile judge’s decision, but a child must wait until after conviction in adult court to seek review. The state’s proposal would cement that imbalance—creating a justice system where government has more rights than the children it prosecutes.
Why Children Deserve Protection
Developmental science and case law alike affirm that kids are different. Their brains—especially the parts governing impulse control and decision-making—are still developing well into their twenties. Young people are more susceptible to pressure, less capable of understanding long-term consequences, and more likely to plead guilty to avoid harsh adult sentences.
In the last five years alone, 933 Ohio children have been bound over to adult court. Taking away their right to appellate review would eliminate one of the only checks ensuring these life-altering decisions are lawful and fair.
Our Commitment
At Children’s Law Center, we believe that oversight is not an obstacle to justice—it is justice. Protecting the right to appeal ensures transparency, accountability, and integrity in our courts. It ensures that government error and prosecutorial misconduct do not go unchecked. It ensures that children, regardless of their circumstances, are treated fairly, lawfully, and humanely.
As we recognize Youth Justice Action Month, we call on policymakers, advocates, and community members to join us in defending fairness for Ohio’s youth. Because when we protect their rights, we strengthen justice for all.
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Author: Merissa Cooper
Merissa Cooper joined CLC as their Youth Justice Policy Counsel in July 2025, where she will focus on advocacy to improve juvenile justice, child welfare, and criminal legal systems for Ohio youth through policy advocacy, direct representation services, and community outreach/education.
Prior to joining CLC, Merissa gained extensive trial advocacy experience through her work as an Assistant Prosecutor at the City of Cleveland Prosecutor's Office, in the Dedicated Domestic Violence Unit, and as a Staff Attorney for Medina County Job and Family Services, in the Protective Services Division. Through her work in both of these roles, Merissa gained valuable insight on the deficits, biases, and racial disparities that are systemically inherent in the legal system and dedicated herself to ensuring that civil rights are protected, that the voices of the youth, especially the voices of youth victims, are elevated and heard, that youth are treated equitably and fairly, and that they are afforded safety, stability, and quality legal representation of their own. Merissa intends to continue this mission through her work with CLC.
Merissa graduated from Marshall University in 2018, with a B.A. in Criminal
Justice/Criminology and a minor in Communications. In 2022, Merissa graduated cum laude from Cleveland State University College of Law and received recognition for her dedication to pro bona and volunteer work.
Merissa is a proud native Appalachian, born and raised in West Virginia. She currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, with her partner and their three dogs, Copper, Charlie, and Phoenix, where they both enjoy volunteering with various community organizations in their spare time, including the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, Motogo Cleveland, City Dogs, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland.