State v. Ricky Zuber (A-54-15; 076806); State v. James Comer (A-63-15; 077318)
Sentencing judges should evaluate the Miller factors when a juvenile facing a lengthy term of imprisonment that is the practical equivalent of life without parole is first sentenced, to “take into account how children are different, and how those differences counsel against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison.” Miller, supra, 567 U.S. ___, 132 S. Ct. at 2469, 183 L. Ed. 2d at 424. Given this holding, both Zuber and Comer are entitled to be resentenced. To stave off possible future constitutional challenges to the current sentencing scheme, the Court asks the Legislature to consider enacting a statute that would provide for later review of juvenile sentences that have lengthy periods of parole ineligibility.
