Protecting Minors in Adult Jails

Federal and state laws require jails and prisons to protect minors from physical and sexual abuse, including by keeping minors physically separate from adults. Despite that legal requirement, in July 2021 a Michigan judge refused to intervene when a minor was housed with adults after being sent to an adult jail, citing a provision of the Michigan Court Rules which stated that minors who have been waived into the adult criminal system are not required to be kept separate from adults. In October 2021 the ACLU of Michigan wrote a letter to the Michigan Supreme Court asking them to change this rule to align with federal and state law, and also take additional measures to prevent jails from using solitary confinement as a convenient tool for keeping minors separate from adults. In December 2021 the Court amended the court rules in line with our request and simultaneously invited public comments on the new amendment. In February 2022 we submitted a public comment to once again emphasize the importance of keeping minors separate from adults without resorting to throwing kids into solitary confinement. In May 2022 the Supreme Court affirmed its amendment and also opened a new file to consider our proposal to reduce the use of solitary confinement. Then, in January 2023 the ACLU of Michigan was alerted to a disturbing situation involving a 16-year-old who had been confined in the Berrien County Jail for nearly a year after being charged as an adult for an offense that occurred when he was only 14. When he was first lodged in the jail, he was assaulted by an adult inmate despite the federal and state laws that require youth to be fully separated from adults in all detention facilities. He was then placed in solitary confinement for months on end, resulting in the deterioration of his mental health. We immediately wrote a letter to local officials as well as the U.S. Department of Justice insisting that action was urgently needed to address the suffering of this young person. Within a week of our letter being sent, federal and state officials responded, and the teen was removed from solitary confinement and provided with needed programming and services. In September 2023 the Michigan Supreme Court issued new proposed amendments to the court rules to emphasize that best efforts must be taken to avoid using solitary confinement as a method of separating minors from adults. (ACLU of Michigan Attorneys Ramis Wadood, Phil Mayor, and Dan Korobkin.)