Youth Defense Systems
On March 13, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a lawsuit challenging the deprivation of children’s right to meaningful representation in the Cordele Judicial Circuit of Georgia. In upholding the constitutional necessity of youth defense specialization, the DOJ asserted, “The right to counsel means more than just a lawyer…
A robust and expeditious juvenile appellate practice ensures that youth are fully accorded their due process rights and is essential to developing a strong and cohesive body of juvenile jurisprudence. All children have a right to appeal their juvenile adjudications. Juvenile defenders are constitutionally mandated to confer with their young clients about their right to…
Post-disposition advocacy encompasses a broad array of issues that affect adjudicated youth. Such advocacy may entail engaging in appellate work; monitoring and engaging in direct advocacy related to safety, conditions of confinement, and parole; monitoring the implementation of disposition plans and actively participating in review hearings to ensure that the court is accurately informed about…
Report to Colorado General Assembly on the State of the Youth Defense System in Colorado pursuant to House Join Resolution 13-1019, whose purpose was to “examine and make recommendations on current laws, procedures and practices for the appointment of counsel, advisement of rights and waivers of counsel for children in juvenile delinquency court.” This report…
On August 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a federal lawsuit challenging deprivations of the right to counsel on misdemeanor cases in two cities in Washington. In calling for an independent monitor, the DOJ asserted, “First, a public defender must have the authority to decline appointments over the…
On August 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in a federal class action lawsuit on the constructive denial of counsel in criminal proceedings within five counties in New York. The DOJ asserted, “The provision of defense services is a multifaceted and complicated task. To guide the defense function, the…
While Missouri stands out for its innovation in providing small, regionalized juvenile corrections programs, an effective juvenile justice system is not built solely upon the corrections options available to youth after they have navigated their way through a complex legal process. An effective juvenile justice system must encompass the foundational elements of fundamental fairness and…
On December 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Shelby County and the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County in Tennessee following their investigation into the juvenile court system. The settlement agreement includes remedial measures to align the following practices with the U.S. Constitution: probable cause determinations, notice…
On December 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Shelby County and the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County in Tennessee following their investigation into the juvenile court system. The settlement agreement includes remedial measures to align the following practices with the U.S. Constitution: probable cause determinations, notice…
Coloradans have an abiding interest in ensuring that the justice system is not the dumping ground for failing schools, mental health systems, or parents who want the state to control their children. The justice system should be reserved for those youth who must be there. When youth do have the misfortune of coming into contact…
In West Virginia, full-time public defenders work for the Public Defender Corporation, established by W.Va. Code 29-21-1, et seq. By statute, all indigent defense work is to be assigned to public defender offices except for conflicts and case overloads. However, public defender offices exist in only 23 of 55 counties (18 of 31 Judicial Circuits)…
Children have a clearly established constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel in delinquency cases and juvenile defenders are vital to protect and enforce that right. In addition, skilled juvenile defenders can play an important role in opening doors to positive opportunities and helping children become productive and contributing members of society. As stated…
This amicus brief prepared by The Gault Center and Juvenile Law Center argues that Louisiana must grant jury trials in juvenile court given the persistent deficiencies in Louisiana’s juvenile legal system including the punitive nature of consequences youth face and the dire and harmful conditions of the state’s jails. Furthermore, amici argue there is a…
In 1967, in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the United States Supreme Court extended the right to counsel to young people accused of crimes, explaining that youth need “the guiding hand of counsel” to respond to the charges leveled against them and to navigate the complicated justice system. This assessment of access to…
The Mississippi assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation in youth court proceedings is part of a national effort to address deficiencies and highlight strengths in juvenile indigent defense practices. Forty years after the United States Supreme Court ruled in In re Gault that children in the delinquency system have a right to…
From the inception of the world’s first juvenile court over 100 years ago, the State of Illinois has long led the way in the creation of a fair and equitable juvenile justice system for children. Illinois has historically been a place where new ideas and strategies that impact children and families have been born, tested…
From the introduction: “This brief tells the story of how the four Models for Change states—Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana, and Washington—are already moving to reform and reshape their own state juvenile justice systems. These states have demonstrated strong leadership in juvenile justice policy, value collaboration and engagement, and because of their efforts, have changed the political…
The information in this report was collected by a team of experts from across the country and Florida, with the guidance of a dedicated advisory board of Florida stakeholders and the support of the Florida Supreme Court, Florida Bar Association, Florida Public Defender’s Association and the elected Public Defenders. Observers traveled to 10 of Florida’s…
This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation for children in Indiana is part of a nationwide effort to address deficiencies and identify strengths in juvenile indigent defense practices. More than thirty-five years after the United States Supreme Court decided in In re Gault that children have a constitutional right to counsel, the…
In 1995, a national assessment of the legal representation of children in delinquency proceedings was conducted by the American Bar Association (ABA) Juvenile Justice Center, Youth Law Center (YLC) and Juvenile Law Center (JLC). The findings—that indigent juvenile defense was woefully inadequate—were published in A Call for Justice: An Assessment of Access to Counsel and…
This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation received by children in the State of Maryland is part of a nationwide effort to address deficiencies and identify strengths in juvenile indigent defense practices. More than thirty-five years after the United States Supreme Court decided that children have a constitutional right to counsel, the…
This study reveals that Maine’s juvenile justice system depends upon the perseverance of dedicated, but under-resourced advocates who rely on luck in locating and providing necessary services for the youth they represent. Maine cannot meet the promise of rehabilitation set forth in its juvenile code, nor can Maine guarantee the highest quality juvenile defense system…
In 2002, the Central Juvenile Defender Center, through the Children’s Law Center, Inc. in Covington, Kentucky, in conjunction with the ABA National Juvenile Defender Center and the Juvenile Justice Coalition, Inc. embarked upon a statewide study of Ohio’s indigent juvenile defense system. The study included extensive surveying of judges, magistrates and defense attorneys, and detention…
The primary goal of this study is to evaluate the quality of counsel defending children in Washington’s juvenile courts. Stakeholders from across the state were invited to participate in defining the objectives of WJJAP, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bar association leaders, university professors, social scientists, child welfare providers, civil legal service attorneys and others…
This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation received by children in the State of Montana is part of a nationwide effort to address deficiencies and identify strengths in juvenile indigent defense practices. More than thirty-five years after the United States Supreme Court decided that children have a constitutional right to counsel, the…
