State of Maine v. J.R.

A teenager, referred to in court documents as J.R., was sentenced to nearly 18 months at Long Creek for a series of misdemeanor offenses. This case challenged the premise that prison is an appropriate punishment for youth with low-level offenses. The ACLU of Maine filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of J.R. on March 30, 2018.

UPDATE: The state Supreme Court did not overturn J.R.'s sentence, but Chief Justice Leigh Saufley wrote separately that the State of Maine is in need of "new and effective alternatives" to prison for children and youth.