Would James Madison have been "tough on crime"?

So I completed my letter to both San Mateo Juvenile Hall and Santa Clara Juvenile Hall regarding my proposed scope of access. Having never written such a thing before it was definitely a learning experience. I figured I would post it below, in case anyone ever has to write something like this in the future (or for their CP), as I would have loved to have some sort of template to work with when drafting this.

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Scope of Access

Each year thousands of youth are cited for a juvenile offense in San Mateo County and Santa Clara County. After completing anywhere from two to four years of probation, many youth are eager to put their criminal past behind them and look forward to a promising, crime-free future. The stigma attached to being a “juvenile delinquent” makes it difficult for youth to muster enough self-confidence to apply to jobs and college.

As part of our mission, FLY’s law program provides important life skills to help youth realize that decisions they make as kids can follow them for the rest of their lives, but it cannot stop there. In order for these youth to create a positive future for themselves, it is imperative that they are able to sever that which binds them to their past. FLY’s record sealing program removes barriers to their employment and helps youth definitively exit the juvenile justice system.

Once youth are no longer incarcerated, the record sealing program pairs them with attorneys who go over their previous charges, figure out the direction the youth intend to take their lives, and then facilitate the submission of the youth’s record sealing petition to the court. As effective as this program is, being able to access youth prior to their release would allow me, as Record Sealing Coordinator, to have an even greater impact.

I would be going into [SCC/SMC] Juvenile Hall on a bi-monthly basis in order to give a presentation to a group of individuals who are participating in FLY’s legal education class. This presentation would cover both the record sealing program itself, along with the legal and social implications of having a criminal record. I would then request access to [SCC/SMC] Juvenile Hall on an as-needed basis in order to have one-on-one communication with individuals who show a specific interest in having their juvenile record sealed. Through this access I hope to increase the number of youth who are aware that their record can be sealed; strengthen the youths’ connections to FLY as an organization; make the participants aware of the effect their criminal records will have on their lives; start to have youth begin thinking about the steps they’ll need to take in order to have their record sealed prior to their release; and engage these youth at a specific period in their lives when they may be especially prone to engage in real introspection and meaningful thought about their future.

Thank you for your consideration.



Sincerely,





David Gable

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My CP's grew out of the need for juvenile justice facilities int heir respective counties. Especially as the number of incarcerated youth has risen, more and more counties have invested in juvenile facilities of their own. It is affected by both federal funding for juvenile crime prevention programs, and also affected by federal standards for criminal legislation. However, it is primarily accountable to the state of California when it comes to most of the policies that significantly impact it.

My questions regarding this chapter are:

1. How does the constitution distribute power between the national and state governments.

2. What are the the advantages and disadvantages of a federal system?

3. What are the Federalist papers?