The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law Hosts Judicial Webinar on Combating Adultification Bias in the Juvenile Justice System

Washington D.C., June 13, 2025 — Yesterday, the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), hosted a timely and critical virtual event focusing on adultification bias—the perception that Black girls are more adult-like and less innocent than their white peers—and how it contributes to harmful disparities in the juvenile justice system.

This special judicial webinar introduced the Center’s newly released Adultification Bias Bench Card, a practical tool designed to help judges recognize and interrupt bias in real time during court proceedings. 

This work builds on years of research and reports led by the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity examining the role that adultification bias plays in the disproportionate discipline, policing, and punishment of Black girls. The new bench card offers judges clear guidance, sample questions, and language to promote fairness and reduce harm in judicial decision-making.

Some moments from the webinar:

Rebecca Epstein, JD, Executive Director, Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity

“We had hypothesized that the greatest difference in perceptions of black versus white girls’ innocence would be during adolescence. But we found instead that adults view Black girls as less innocent than white girls across childhood and across age brackets.”

Professor Thalia González, Senior Scholar, Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity

“The data is clear that Black girls are experiencing harsher outcomes in the juvenile justice system. Whether it’s that they’re disproportionately arrested or less likely to be diverted, all of that is bound up in a set of misconceptions or myths, and those are all about adultification bias.”

Judge Nurse, Associate Judge with Douglas County Juvenile Court in Georgia:

“We’re all aware of the power that we wield as judges. We have an especially profound responsibility to the children who come before us, to treat them as the children they actually are: young people who are bound to make mistakes, and are even supposed to make mistakes; whose brains are still developing; who are vulnerable and need protection and nurturing – even when they don’t act like it; and most importantly, as young human beings who are resilient and capable of change.” 

Judge Gayl Branum Carr, Past President, National Council of Juvenile and Family and Court Judges

“We always emphasize that learning doesn’t stop when you put on the robe, whether it’s through training, mentorship, or resources like this one. We are committed to supporting judges in doing this work better every day. I hope you will consider this bench card, not as a checklist, but as a catalyst for reflection, for conversation and for change, and to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable children and families.”

Bios of the speakers are below.

The bench card is part of a broader effort by the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity and NCJFCJ to equip the judiciary with actionable strategies to ensure that all youth, especially those most marginalized, are treated with dignity, fairness, and care.

To learn more about the Adultification Bias Bench Card or access related resources, visit their website.

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The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law champions the rights of girls, gender-expansive youth, and women. Our goal is to uncover and eliminate gender and racial disparities across public systems: schools, courtrooms, hospitals, and other touch points in girls’ lives. We start by investigating the root causes of injustice through groundbreaking research and then work to develop innovative law, practice, and policy solutions. Our efforts are informed by girls and rooted in their lived experiences.

Speaker Bios:

• Rebecca Epstein, JD: Rebecca Epstein is the Executive Director of the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law. Founded and led by Rebecca since 2012, the Center has driven policy changes in courts, schools, and the healthcare system, and influenced national discussions on critical issues, including the criminalization of survivors of gender-based violence and the biases faced by Black girls. Rebecca serves as an expert advisor in several capacities, including the Family Training Committee of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and Brown University’s Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women.
  
  
• Professor Thalia Gonzalez: Thalia González is a Professor of Law at UC Law San Francisco, holds a Harry & Lillian Hastings Research Chair, and co-directs the Center for Racial and Economic Justice. Most importantly to us at the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity, she also holds a position as Senior Scholar with us, where she has led research projects, co-authored reports, among many other roles. Thalia is a nationally recognized scholar on restorative justice, education law, health justice, juvenile justice, critical race theory, and adultification bias.
  
  
• Judge Nurse: Talia Nurse is an associate judge with Douglas County Juvenile Court in Georgia. She serves as a Child Welfare Law Specialist certified through the National Association of Counsel of Children, and was recently honored by receiving the Judge Willie Lovett award, which recognizes members of the bar who have made a significant impact on our child welfare law system in Georgia.
  
  
• Judge Branum Carr: Gayl Y. Branum Carr has been a Judge of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 19th Judicial District since 1994, serving in the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. She was elected Chief Judge in 2004. She is also the past President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and she serves as a mentor for newly elected Virginia judges.