Dear TeamChild Community,

This holiday season, we are counting down our top 10 moments of the year! Our second highlight was an Amicus Brief.

Amicus curie is a funny phrase. It is Latin, meaning "friend of the court". Lawyers write amicus briefs for courts to review when the impact of the ruling extends beyond the individuals involved in the case. TeamChild was invited to write one in 2025 in a case involving a young person. The judges had to consider whether the young person's youthfulness was an important factor in the case. TeamChild’s amicus highlighted why courts should apply adolescent brain science when evaluating how young people experience the legal system and whether they understand what’s happening. We were thrilled that the amicus we wrote in this case was helpful to influence the court's ruling - a ruling that both supported the needs of an individual youth client, and also fortified the legal requirements to consider young people's unique developmental needs when they interact with the legal system.

We couldn't do this important work without your support.  We invite you to consider making a gift to make it possible for TeamChild to continue to advocate for the rights of young people in Washington. 
We hope you continue follow along as we count down our top 10 of 2025! 

Thank you,

TeamChild Board and Staff

If you are interested in learning more about how you can support the work of TeamChild, please respond to this email or call 206.322.2444.