Southern Poverty Law Center, The Gault Center et al. Amicus Brief, In re: Sherri Jefferson

This amicus brief by Southern Poverty Law Center, The Gault Center, and others argues Sherri Jefferson, a youth defense attorney in Georgia, must have her contempt conviction overturned after she professionally and zealously advocated on behalf of her young client in an adjudication in juvenile court. Amici argue the Supreme Court clearly held that children in delinquency proceedings have the right to zealous protection of their due process rights by defense counsel and that state and national ethics rules and attorney standards affirm a youth defender’s obligation to zealously advocate by protecting the record and challenging rulings as Sherri Jefferson did in this case. Furthermore, amici argue that allowing this conviction to stand would have a chilling effect on zealous advocacy for young people in juvenile courts in Georgia.

From the Introduction of the Brief: “From the Defense attorney Sherri Jefferson appeared before the Glynn County Juvenile Court armed with an ethical and professional obligation to provide zealous advocacy for her young client. When disputes arose during the trial regarding evidentiary issues, Jefferson addressed the court respectfully, but questioned its rulings and stated for the record her view that the court had prejudged the case. Tr. vol. 2, 6, 9 Aug. 9, 2005. The trial judge cited Jefferson with numerous instances of contempt. During a hearing on the contempt charges, most allegations against Jefferson were discarded as lacking evidence, but the conviction that stands poses a serious threat to the fair administration of the juvenile justice system. Jefferson was convicted of contempt for attempting to zealously advocate for a client in a delinquency court system that historically has discouraged such advocacy. Zealous advocacy is absolutely necessary for the protection of the constitutional rights of young defendants and essential to the truth-seeking function of the judicial system. Allowing Jefferson’s conviction to stand will discourage other attorneys from zealously advocating for their clients, prejudicing the rights of the clients and upsetting the delicate balance that exists in an adversarial system. To prevent this chilling effect, Jefferson’s convictions must be overturned.”