In 2020 the Virginia General Assembly passed HB 744, requiring judges to consider a child’s exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), early childhood trauma, and involvement in the child welfare system before sentencing a child who has been convicted in adult criminal court. The new law also allows judges to depart from any mandatory minimum sentence or suspend any sentence he or she would otherwise be required to impose. This bench card is designed to help judges navigate the new requirements of the law, as well as emerging constitutional jurisprudence on how children must be sentenced when facing criminal punishment in adult court.