Why does the U.S. lead the world in youth imprisonment? What should a truly effective juvenile justice system look like? How can the media stay ahead of the story?
On April 23-24, 2012, 30 journalists from around the nation joined some of the country's most prominent juvenile justice experts, practitioners and advocates to explore those questions at a special symposium at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, organized by John Jay's Center on Media, Crime and Justice with the support of the Tow Foundation and in cooperation with John Jay's Center for Research and Evaluation.
The 30 journalists, selected as Reporting Fellows, examined current sentencing and detention practices, the impact of race, treatment of mental health and substance abuse, and the role of police, courts, schools (and parents) in the so-called "school to prison pipeline." The year-long fellowship also includes the establishment of a "juvenile justice news network" for reporters to assist them in following trends in this area, and new research--with the aim of providing the tools that can help foster informed public debate at local and national levels in 2012 and beyond.
The symposium entitled Kids Behind Bars: Where's the Justice in America's Juvenile Justice System, Covering the Juvenile Justice Reform Debate in 2012 featured keynote speeches from Gail Garinger, The Child Advocate of the State of Massachusetts; attorney Bryan Stevenson who argued the Supreme Court case related to juvenile Life Without Parole; and Mike Bocian, Pollster & Founding Partner, GBA Strategies.
Panelists included: Vincent N. Schiraldi, Commissioner, New York City Department of Probation, James Bell, Founder and Executive Director, W. Haywood Burns Institute, C. Jama Adams, Professor and Chair of John Jay College's Africana Studies Department and Joseph Gaudett, Chief of Police, Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Proceedings of the conference, including podcasts, research materials provided by speakers, are covered below. For a full list of speakers, panelists and the agenda click here.
NOTE: this page will be updated regularly with articles by Fellows and other information as it becomes available.
By Paul Bieber
A ruling in California adds new impetus to the national movement to overturn wrongful arson convictions.
Read full entry »
By Cara Tabachnick
Journalists and juvenile justice experts gathered on day two to discuss covering the juvenile justice reform debate in 2012 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Read full entry »California's proposed criminal justice realignment gains support from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), which issued a report with policy recommendations focusing on youth detention.
Read full entry »A new report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers looks at New York and Colorado as models for change in the grand jury system.
Read full entry »Millions of Americans are charged with non-felony crimes each year, from trespass to domestic violence to marijuana. A recent report examines how to better mitigate the financial and human costs of these cases.
Read full entry »Programs that provide free legal aid to the poor are laying off employees, cutting services and increasingly turning away people who need assistance, as slashed budgets face deeper cuts, reports USA Today. One expert calls it a "dire situation." Legal aid programs provide representation in civil cases related to domestic violence, foreclosures, child custody issues and similar matters. The Constitution guarantees legal representation if a person cannot afford to hire a lawyer in criminal cases, but in civil cases people are on their own.
Congress cut funding for the Legal Services Corp., an umbrella non-profit group that distributes grants to 136 programs on the state level, by $15.8 million, about 4% of the program's most recent budget, in the spring. The House Appropriations Committee has proposed slashing an additional $104 million for fiscal 2012, rolling back funding to $300 million — a level not seen since 1999. The number of people eligible, based on income levels, for LSC programs across the country has gone up 27% since 2007. About 64 million people qualify.
Read full entry »
On May 2 and 3, 2011, twenty-five California journalists met with state and local officials and a range of criminal justice experts on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, to examine California’s so-called “Three Strikes Law” and its impact on the state’s criminal justice system, in advance of a possible referendum for repeal in 2012.
Read full entry »Providers of civil legal services to the poor are having to furlough their staff, triage their clients, and turn away more people in need as a result of the congressional budget compromise reached last month, reports ProPublica.org. Legal services may include defending low-income individuals dealing with predatory lending, domestic violence, landlord-tenant disputes or foreclosure. The umbrella nonprofit group Legal Services Corporation had its funding cut by $15.8 million, a 4 percent decline.
The modest reduction isn't the only reason that the 136 legal aid programs across the country funded through LSC are in a tight spot. In addition to less funding from the federal government, they have limited support from cash-strapped states, dwindling revenue from trust accounts and a growing population of people eligible and in need of their help. ProPublica details budget crunches at legal aid offices from New York City, New Jersey and Maine to Idaho.
By Stephen Handelman
John Jay Justice Award recipient Marian Wright Edelman warns that sharp cutbacks in education and literacy programs imperil America’s survival.
Read full entry »At least 135 attorneys with criminal convictions are practicing law today in Wisconsin, including some who kept their licenses while serving time and others who got them back before they were off probation, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The roster includes lawyers with felony or misdemeanor convictions for fraud, theft, battery and repeat drunken driving, as well as offenses involving political corruption, drugs and sex.
Another 70 lawyers were charged with crimes but succeeded in having the charges reduced or avoided conviction by completing a deferred prosecution plan. All were given the green light to practice law. The newspaper's review, which ran nearly 24,000 Wisconsin lawyers against state and federal court records, found that lawyers who are convicted of crimes are then subjected to a slow-moving disciplinary system that operates largely behind closed doors. Unlike many other states, where the licenses of lawyers convicted of serious crimes such as fraud are immediately suspended to give regulators time to determine the proper sanction, Wisconsin sometimes allows criminals to keep their law licenses even while they are behind bars.
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/114879194.html
Read full entry »President
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada
Nevada
siegel@unr.edu
Read full entry »Training and Technical Assistance Manager
Battered Women's Justice Program
1801 Nicollet Ave So, Rm 102
Mpls, MN 55403
612-824-8768 x108
csponsler@bwjp.org
Read full entry »Executive Director, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Lecturer in Law Columbia Law School
317 Lenox Ave, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10027
rjones@ndsny.org
212-876-5500
What does the future hold in store for domestic violence? October, the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month reminds us to reflect on the changes that have been made and keep striving towards our goals. People want to see an end to the use of violence as a means to control women and children, as a public health epidemic, and as a violation of human rights. Yet, domestic violence continues to plague households and communities across the country.
One in four women experiences intimate partner violence in her lifetime, reports the National Center for Victims of Crime. Women ages 20 to 24 have the highest level of physical violence from an intimate partner. And, it turns out, it starts even younger. About 10% of students nationwide report being physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past 12 months, found the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fortunately, experts have taken notice, and are taking steps towards controlling domestic violence. For one, we are paying more attention to teen dating violence. A 24-hour National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline was launched in 2007, with the help of sponsor Liz Claiborne, Inc. Research is underway to further our understanding of this field and prevention programs are starting to be implemented in schools.
Second, several areas are being investigated in domestic violence, but two issues stand out. One is coercive control. Coercive control is more than just physical violence, often counted by the number of assaults; it involves ongoing coercion, intimidation, isolation, and control. The emphasis is on violations against the person’s freedoms – what they can and can’t do. Another issue involves strangulation. According to the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, “Strangulation has only recently been identified as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence.” Strangulation can serve as a potent threat to a victim and is considered a precursor to homicide. Nonetheless, only about 26 states make strangulation a felony; others consider it a misdemeanor.
Lastly, other issues have gained national attention recently, such as domestic violence being used as a “pre-existing condition” in health insurance, the link between domestic violence and pet abuse and domestic violence victims losing their jobs or becoming homeless.
But there is a bright spot on the horizon: On October 1st of this year, President Obama nominated Susan B. Carbon as the Director of the Office of Violence Against Women. Carbon brings a wealth of experience from working in family court, on commissions, and as head of a council. With her knowledge of how battered women fare in family court, it is hoped changes occur that help victims retain custody of their children. Her appointment confirms the Administration’s effort towards helping survivors retain their jobs, health insurance, homes, pets and children. But most important, it provides the hope that the Federal Government will commit the funding and resources necessary to accomplish this huge, but vital, agenda.
Joan Dawson serves as a Secretary and Board Member of Guatemala Human Rights Commission and a Board Member of a domestic violence campaign. She's also active in the Battered Mothers Custody movement.
Read full entry »
