The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a commitment order, clarifying that under state statute, a youth may be placed with a friend’s parent without pre-existing guardianship. The court stated in relevant part: When presented with the option of placing T.M. with Coates, the court determined it could not do so because she did not have…
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a delinquency adjudication of intimidation based on insufficiency of evidence involving a case of a 12-year-old who joked that she would bring a gun if her backpack wasn’t returned. The court stated in relevant part: To adjudicate R.H. delinquent for acts of intimidation, as alleged, the State had to prove…
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a murder and armed robbery conviction based on double jeopardy violation. The court stated in relevant part: [H]ere the charging information for murder simply tracks the statutory language, while the robbery charge alleges a threat or the use of force by shooting at Martin. Because of the way the…
From the Introduction of the report by the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley School of Law: “The paper proceeds as follows: • Part I describes current community supervision technologies, including location tracking, alcohol monitoring, and drug testing, and the reliability concerns with each. • Part II describes and compares the…
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a probation violation related to a condition that youth must “obey all laws” based on insufficient evidence. The court stated in relevant part: “V.B. contends the State did not prove he violated the condition of his probation requiring him to obey the law because he had only been arrested…
The concurring opinion of the Indiana Supreme Court outlines the standard for youth defense counsel under the 14th Amendment and offers the following language. “A juvenile‘s right to the effective assistance of counsel is the same right an adult enjoys for criminal prosecutions, and juveniles enjoy the right for the same reasons as adults: “The juvenile needs the assistance of counsel…
The Indiana Supreme Court found that B.A. was in police custody and under police interrogation when he was taken to the Vice Principal’s office, interviewed and asked to write down information related to a bomb threat at school. The court stated in relevant part: “Ultimately, as the law-enforcement presence grows in today’s schools, so does…
On October 17, 2017, the DOJ closed its investigation of the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility, citing improvements made to the facility. The letter states, “Most broadly, the State has made system-wide efforts to minimize incarceration of youth; to move toward a rehabilitative juvenile justice model; to increase youth’s access to community-based alternatives to incarceration; and…
The Court of Appeals of Indiana found the juvenile court abused its discretion when it denied a 12-year-old’s continuance of his waiver hearing after his attorney only had four business days to investigate and prepare for the hearing. The court reversed the child’s conviction in adult court and remanded the proceeding to juvenile court offering…
On August 22, 2012, the DOJ released its investigation findings into the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana. The investigation finds that “Pendleton exposes incarcerated youth to significant harm in violation of their constitutional and federal statutory rights. Pendleton fails to take reasonable steps to prevent youth from committing suicide, fails to provide reasonably safe…
On January 29, 2010, the Department of Justice issued a findings letter regarding an investigation of the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility (ICJF) pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997 (CIPRA), and the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, U.S.C. §14141…
