News

May 27, 2010

Juvie commission report released

Mark Guydish

The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice released it's long-anticipated report and recommendations regarding the juvenile corruption scandal today.

The report recommends the creation of a statewide office of Juvenile Justice Victim Advocate, the restoration of funding for the Victims of Juvenile Offenders program to 2005 levels,  and the creation of a Luzerne County Victims of Juvenile Crime Restitution fund.

It calls for the State Supreme Court to re-examine the code of judicial conduct to ensure ethical provisions and reporting requirements are adequate.

And it calls for the review and revision of the recently adopted Judicial Conduct Board Internal Operating Procedures, review of the role and independence of the JCB staff, review and enhancement of JCB annual reports, and revision and enhancement of the JCB website.

The commission calls for insurance that judges and lawyers are aware of their ethical responsibility to report misconduct,and to develop educational materials so the general public is aware of how to report judicial misconduct. It also recommends a review of the state constitutional provisions regarding judicial discipline to ensure the JCB is held accountable.

Regarding Attorney discipline the report recommends creating educational programming to ensure the bar and the general public understand what constitutes attorney misconduct, revise and enhance the attorney disciplinary board website and increase and enhance attorney Continuing Legal Education ethics requirements.

The commission endorses the training standards adopted by the state district Attorney's Association and the Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania, and suggests the two associations should develop continuing legal education courses for prosecutors and defense council, with emphasis on the importance of working in the juvenile justice field.

Standards from the district attorney's association or prosecutors in juvenile courts should be implemented and the resources needed should be adequately funded.

A state-based funding stream for indigent juvenile defense should be formed along with a Center for Juvenile Defense excellence.

The Chief Juvenile Probation Officer's association and all county probation departments should adopt standards of conduct, as well as rules prohibiting partisan political activities for all employees.

The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania should do a national review to determine best practices for court hiring policies and present the findings of that study to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court should also continue its oversight of the Luzerne County Juvenile Justice System.

The commission recommends ensuring adequate resources are available for the Juvenile Court Judge's Commission to collect appropriate juvenile justice data and conduct additional data analysis, and enhanced data collection and data sharing among various entities that collect data regarding the juvenile justice system.

The commission recommends revising statues and rules of court to require judges to state on the record how juvenile disposition furthers the goals for the juvenile acts, and having the Juvenile Justice Delinquency prevention Committee of the the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and delinquency study and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate shackling in juvenile courtrooms.

The commission recommends the state implement the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative model as a detention assessment instrument, and endorsed the modification of Standards Governing the use of Secure Detention .

The commission wants to see an expansion as a pilot program the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory risks/needs instrument and the employment of valid research and other evidence-based risk assessment instruments.

And the commission recommends developing a form advising juveniles of their right ot appeal and seek other post dispositional relief and develop Internet-based resources explaining how the post-dispositional process works and how parents and hcildren can get assistance.

An expedited appelate review and a statewide office to provide assistance with appeals should be developed.

Regarding County Commissioners, the commission recomends they attend the County Commissioner's Association of Pennsylvania Academy for Excellence in County Government, and enhanced understanding of the respective roles and obligations of county-level court officials and county executive officials.

Zero tolerance policies should be discontinued, there should be enhanced understanding of the roles and obligations among educational, law enforcement and juvenile justice stake holders, and enhanced cooperation among educational, law enforcement and juvenile justice stakeholders to maintain safety and security in schools.

The commission does not recommend making all juvenile delinquency proceedings presumptively open to public or the creation of ombudsman to serve as watchdogs and or public advocates investigating grievances regarding governmental abuse of power in the juvenile justice system.

The commission approved the recommendations unanimously in a string of public votes during a brief meeting this morning.

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