How does this country treat juveniles who commit offenses? Each state approaches the issue differently. The way we look at juveniles who commit crimes from misdemeanors to felonies shifts based on legal rulings and research. Our guests on this edition of "Our American States" take a look at the key issues, research and legislation affecting juvenile justice.

We'll first hear from Marsha Levick, the deputy director and chief counsel for the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia. She's been involved in U.S. Supreme Court cases, and her group works on legal issues involving juveniles. She led a famous effort that removed state judges who were sentencing juveniles without representation and receiving kickbacks from for-profit juvenile facilities.

Then we'll talk with Kentucky state Senator Whitney Westerfield (R), who chairs the NCSL Juvenile Justice Principles Work Group, made up of 15 state legislative leaders in juvenile justice from across the country. The senator shares how the above quote, by Frederick Douglass, has helped shape his views on juvenile justice and led to comprehensive reform in his state. The bill has been promoted as a model by the Right on Crime national campaign.

Both give their perspective on the importance on collecting data and using it in a positive way.

• Transcription of Episode 14

Americans learned a lot about the birth of our nation when Lin-Manuel Miranda launched the hit Broadway show, “Hamilton.” In the song, “Non-Stop,” part of the lyrics goes:

“Alexander joins forces with James Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays defending the new United States Constitution, entitled 'The Federalist Papers.' ”

From those papers, came a concept of government called federalism, where states share power with the federal government. As our guests today will explain, the system works—but it also creates great tension between those entities.

Robin Vos, a Republican and the speaker of the House of Representatives in Wisconsin, and Dan Blue, a Democratic Senator from North Carolina, share their viewpoints on the state of federalism today, nearly 230 years after "The Federalist Papers" were published.

• Transcription of Episode 13