NCJ Number
230455
Journal
Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy Volume: 16 Dated: 2009 Pages: 543-583
Date Published
2009
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This article analyzes the failures of juvenile indigent defense systems and identifies the disproportionate effects of these failures on low-income youth of color, followed by examples of successful innovative systems reform that have improved legal representation for youth from low-income families.
Abstract
Given the socioeconomic handicaps that often characterize the families of youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, indigent defense systems are responsible for providing legal representation to a large percentage of the juveniles who enter the juvenile justice system. In the landmark case of In re Gault in 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear that youth as well as adults charged with offenses need legal counsel to assist them in understanding and navigating the complexities of the modern juvenile or adult justice systems. Attorneys are essential in helping young clients understand and invoke their due process rights, hold the state to its burden of proof, advocate for fair dispositions, appeal adverse rulings, and protect their client's interests while incarcerated or on probation. Yet as even the U.S. Congress has recognized on a number of occasions, significant work remains to be done in order to achieve effective implementation of "Gault" mandate. This article identifies specific barriers to effective representation of low-income youth in delinquency courts, with attention to factors that undermine the effectiveness of indigent defense systems. This is followed, however, by the observation that momentum for reform is building, and advocates in many States have made significant progress in addressing some of the most challenging infringements on youths' right to counsel. Examples are provided of juveniles' expanding access to counsel and improvement in the quality of defense services for youth. 300 notes