by TChris

Judges are often asked to decide whether a juvenile who has been accused of a serious crime should be prosecuted as an adult. Because that decision is usually discretionary, hinging upon the judge's evaluation of several factors, parents sometimes question why other kids are treated as kids while their own child is exposed to the harsh consequences of an adult conviction.

Lisa Cervantes wonders whether the decision to waive her son into adult court was fair.

His mother not only is confident of his innocence but also is angry that he was ordered to stand trial as an adult -- while a judge ruled last week that another Salinas teen will be tried as a juvenile for murder. That teen, a 17-year-old Salinas girl, is accused of driving drunk and killing two people near Lake San Antonio. "She's white and she goes to Notre Dame (High School)," Cervantes said Friday. "I'm Latina and I'm from the east side. She can be rehabilitated and my son can't. What's up with that?"

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in Roper v. Simmons, a case that will decide the constitutionality of executing people who were under 18 at the time of their crimes. There are 71 Death Row inmates in the U.S. who committed murder as teens. (check out this graphic from the Dallas Morning News.)

We're in good company. The only other countries that execute offenders who were juveniles at the time of their crime are Iran, Iran, Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia.;

In 1988 and 1989, when the Court last considered the issue, it ruled that states could not execute those younger than 16 when they commit murder, but concluded there was no national consensus against executing juveniles who are 16 or 17. [Note, that the issue revolves around the age at which the crime was committed, not age at the time of execution.] Here are some of the most recent news articles examining the case and issue:

Chicago Tribune: 4 of 9 Justices call for end to executing Juveniles.

Two justices who voted to strike down the death penalty for the retarded--Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy--may be the most likely to provide additional votes for outlawing juvenile executions.

Gov. Arnold must be too wrapped up in his new position as leader of the GOP. While concentrating on "girlie men" at the RNC, he abandoned his obligation to protect his state's juveniles.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Tuesday that sought to help judges decide which juvenile crimes were serious enough to merit prosecution in adult court. In a statement, Schwarzenegger said the bill would "seriously compromise public safety" by preventing some of California's most dangerous juvenile offenders from being tried as adults. He also suggested that the measure would erode a ballot initiative, approved by voters in 2000, that sought to toughen penalties for young criminals.

....The measure was endorsed by 10 organizations, including the state's association of Juvenile Court judges and the Judicial Council. In a letter, the Juvenile Court judges said the bill would have helped them "better exercise their discretion in determining whether a child" should be tried in adult court.

....The bill's author, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), said "the governor made a mistake." She said her measure, which had extensive support, was merely designed to guide judges and eliminate ambiguity in the law. Advocates of the bill agreed, and said they were puzzled and surprised by the governor's veto. "This is totally bizarre," said Carole Shauffer, an attorney with the nonprofit Youth Law Center in San Francisco. "It appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to juvenile crime rather than a thoughtful response to this particular issue."

Arnie, get back to Sacremento and right this wrong.

Bump and Update: 13 year old Jake Eakin finally gets an experienced lawyer to defend him against adult murder charges.

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original post

Read this one...Not even Scott Turow or John Grisham could make this up. A juvenile murder trial, a 'sleeping judge, a 'felon prosecutor' and an inexperienced defense attorney. By award-winning journalist Ken Armstrong (formerly of Mills/Armstrong Chicago Tribune fame) and Jonathan Martin in today's Seattle Times. 13 year old Craig Sorger is murdered and two of his 12 year old playmates are charged:

The two suspects, Evan Savoie and Jake Eakin, are scheduled to stand trial Sept. 14 in Grant County Superior Court. They will be the youngest murder defendants tried as adults in the state's modern history.....police questioned the two boys [who were] last seen with Craig — each 12 years old, and neither in trouble with the law before. Police would question them again and again in days to come, collecting shifting statements that were not confessions, but that would lead prosecutors to charge them with first-degree murder.

by TChris

This is a familiar story. A parent catches her kid breaking the law. She turns him in and instructs him to plead guilty, expecting that a fair-minded judge will give the kid a stern lecture before imposing some community service hours.

That isn't the way it works. Catherine Quigley and her son learned that the hard way.

Quigley, angry after Matthew took his sister's car for a joy ride, thought a much-needed scare by police would serve him right. ... Instead, the arrest snowballed into a grand-theft-auto conviction -- a third-degree felony with strict penalties.

Parents who think the legal system will treat their kids fairly need to understand that the system works best when kids invoke their constitutional rights by consulting with a lawyer before deciding whether to plead guilty.

Throughout the country, juveniles are admitting guilt without the advice of attorneys at alarming rates -- a problem that has sparked calls for reform among legal scholars, attorneys and child advocates. In Florida, about one in four young people charged with serious crimes pleads guilty without legal advice, according to University of Florida researchers.

The Florida Supreme Court is going to decide whether a juvenile should be required to meet with an attorney to assure that the decision to waive counsel is made with a full understanding of the consequences of pleading guilty without legal assistance. Experience shows that hasty and uninformed guilty pleas lead kids into worlds of hurt they never expected. Lawyers can correct the mistaken beliefs that guide the advice given by parents, including the myth that a juvenile record will never come back to haunt an adult. Courts should make sure that kids understand their rights before they give them up on a parent's advice.

by TChris

The "get tough on crime" mentality of the last 25 years induced state legislatures to turn back the clock on hard-fought reforms in our juvenile justice system. Juvenile courts weren't tough enough, critics said, so legislatures began to indulge in the absurd fiction that children who commit "adult crimes" (whatever those might be) aren't really children at all, and should therefore be subjected to the harsh realities that attend adult convictions. Legislators who acknowledge that kids lack the maturity to drink, smoke, vote, or fornicate were persuaded that kids are nonetheless capable of making mature decisions about crime and should be judged as if they possessed an adult capacity to make grown-up judgments about criminal behavior.

So it is in Ephrata, Washington, where Jake Lee Eakin (age 12, IQ 83) was ordered to stand trial for homicide in adult court. But Jake doesn't possess that imaginary level of adult sophistication; in adult court, he doesn't have a clue.

"When the judge starts talking, I don't know what he's saying mostly," said Eakin last week at the Grant County juvenile-detention center, his 70-pound frame floating in a prison-issue jumpsuit.

Eakin's lawyers are trying to persuade a state appellate court that sending a child of that age into adult court "threatens the very foundational purposes" of Washington's separate adult and juvenile-justice systems. There isn't much doubt of that. Nor is there any doubt that it's time for state legislatures to rethink the absurdity of treating kids like kids for all purposes except the criminal justice system.

If Eakin has a hard time understanding, it's in part due to his age and the typical brain development of a child his age — factors that would influence his decision-making and judgment, said Steven Drizin, a juvenile-justice expert at Northwestern University's law school.

"Most of the research suggests there are serious questions about competency of 14-year-olds," he said. "Certainly 13 and younger function like mentally retarded adults in their level of functioning." As for 12-year-olds, Drizin said, they are "simply not as culpable as adults for their criminal behavior."

TalkLeft has written many times about the abuse juveniles have suffered while in the custody of the California Youth Authority. In an op-ed in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle, one mother describes her fear at visiting her son and the horror of watching him lose himself and become another person due to the abuse heaped upon him, by both guards and other prisoners. She also offers some constructive suggestions for change. First, her story:

I have not been able to be a mother ever since my son went to the California Youth Authority, the state's system of youth prisons. I have spent the last four years watching him appear in the CYA visiting room with cuts, choke marks and bruises. He has been attacked by other youth or staff more than 40 times. I have seen him lose confidence in himself, become cold and depressed and fearful for his life. And the whole time, I have not been able to do one thing about it. Except lose sleep.

What the CYA calls rehabilitation, the rest of us call tortuous abuse. The CYA is every parent's worst nightmare, and our state's leaders should act now to make sure that no more young people are abused and neglected while under its "care."

Take a guess where the following true scenario takes place daily:

The bullhorn blares across the yard. Young Latinos and African Americans quickly scan their surroundings, noticing the many faces that watch them. A chain-link fence, 20 feet high, surrounds them on three sides. Dutifully, they fall into place in line. Heads up, hands clasped behind their backs, shoulders straight. Most know better than to talk. A few test the rules and murmur among themselves. "You're wasting my time!" barks the attendant. Rumpled play dollars are doled out to the well behaved; order is maintained through this token economy. Thus begins their day.

You're thinking boot camp? A juvenile detention facility? Wrong. It's an elementary school.

This is elementary school. First grade. Our inmates are 6 years old. They are not criminals. Small and wiry, these are children whose usual offenses are pulling braids or not sharing Hot Cheetos. The children must walk in straight lines. Hands must remain behind their backs, as though in handcuffs. The high fences separate them from the outside, physically and symbolically. What does it mean when you are 6 and your school is run like a prison?

If you know anyone who's interested, pass this along--we received it by e-mail from the Children's Defense Fund:

Development Associate sought by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national bi-partisan organization of law enforcement leaders and crime victims advocating investments in children's programs. This position works with a three-person team to raise a $5 million budget from foundations, special events, individuals, and corporations. Requires excellent written and oral communication skills, 2-3 years development experience, proven organizational ability, strategic thinker, and interest in rapid professional growth. Salary low to mid-30's, commensurate with experience. Excellent benefits. Apply online http://www.fightcrime.org/jobs . No calls please.

They will accept faxed writing samples as part of the application.

The Florida Senate has passed a bill raising the minimum age for the death penalty to 18. Currently, the state has no minimum.

Capital punishment would be reserved for murderers 18 or older when committing their crime under the bill (SB 224) sponsored by Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa. No Florida law regulates how old a criminal must be to receive the death penalty, though the standard in case law is for those 18 and older.

Similar laws have passed in Wyoming and North Dakota. In New Hampshire, the legislature passed the bill but Gov. Craig Benson has said he will veto it.

Unfortunately, there may not be enough time left in Florida's legislative session to get the bill passed by the House and enacted into law. On the other hand, failure to pass it could put Florida's death penalty law for adults in jeopardy:

Driving the measure is a U.S. Supreme Court case that will determine the constitutionality of executing juveniles. If the high court rules against it, Florida's capital punishment laws, which make no separate provisions for minors, would be thrown out.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, who has introduced it every year for the past five years.

Former first lady Roselynn Carter weighs in against the juvenile death penalty:

Adolescents are not adults. They lack full capacity to reason, control impulses and understand consequences. They do not handle social pressures and other stresses like adults do and therefore, are less culpable than adults who commit crimes. Scientific studies demonstrate their lessened responsibility. We previously believed that the brain was fully developed by age 14, but recent studies have revealed that it continues to mature until the early 20s.

We also know that the frontal lobe, which controls the brain's most complex functions -- particularly reasoning -- undergoes more change during adolescence than at any other time. It is the last part of the brain to develop. Such findings have led the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Society of Adolescent Psychiatry to oppose the death penalty for juveniles.

The United States will soon become the last nation on Earth that executes juvenile offenders. There are only four countries remaining where juveniles reportedly are executed, and the United States and Somalia are the only two countries that have not ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits capital punishment for those under 18. Somalia has recently signed the Convention and announced its intention to ratify.

Mrs. Carter urges the Florida Supreme Court to rule the juvenile death penalty "cruel and unusual punishment" in a case set to be determined this year.

Meanwhile, the American public should send a message to the court through their state legislatures that ''evolving standards of decency'' do not tolerate executing juvenile offenders.

In Michigan alone, there are 150 prisoners, ages 17 to 73, doing life without parole for crimes they committed when they were 16 or younger. The ACLU of Michigan has announced a project to examine the cases of these inmates and those similarly situated in Illinois, California, Florida and, perhaps, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Forty-one states allow juvenile offenders to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Michigan is one of 13 states that has no minimum age for such sentences, although the youngest such prisoner in Michigan was 14 at the time of the murder.....The study will be funded by a $100,000 grant from the New York City-based JEHT Foundation, the ACLU said. The foundation's name comes from its core goals of justice, equality, human dignity and tolerance, according to its Web site.

The report should be finished by the end of the year.