Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/series/los-angeles-bureau/page/4/)
Juvenile justice is a complex issue — one that affects communities in different ways. Understanding this, JJIE is working to extend coverage across the country. The Los Angeles Bureau is part of this effort that contributes in-depth reporting of national interest.
The Los Angeles Bureau is at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Students cover both Los Angeles and much of Southern California.
When high school sophomore Mykia Moore got into an argument with her best friend over a boy last year at Augustus Hawkins High School in South Los Angeles, the dispute quickly escalated into a physical fight.
LOS ANGELES — The man who has presided over the largest juvenile court system in the nation for 20 years will leave behind major advances in treating so-called crossover youths. He leaves with his trademark blaze of silver hair, relaxed attitude and easy humor intact.
The Hollywood PAL program, one of the largest Police Activities/Athletics League programs in the Los Angeles area, gives students a positive alternative to gangs and drugs.
The Compton (Calif.) Unified Board of Education approved in July allowing campus police officers to have AR-15 rifles on school grounds. There was no community input.
The boys at the table in the Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles are tense. Teacher Johnny Kovatch doesn’t hold back, aggressively pushing them to write more and dig deeper inside themselves.
For InsideOUT Writers volunteers like Johnny Kovatch, California's juvenile halls hold an infinite amount of potential and opportunity.
LOS ANGELES — The walls of Ironwood State Prison in Blythe, Calif., were hardly unfamiliar to Prophet Walker. As a teenager, Walker spent nearly half of his six-year prison sentence at Ironwood after he was convicted of assault causing great bodily injury and robbery at the age of 16.
This June, Walker, now 26, returned to Ironwood. However, this time it was not as a prisoner, but as a candidate for state office and a role model to the young men who stand where Walker stood just several years ago.
Beginning when she was 13, Raquelle Miranda had several encounters with the juvenile justice system. She had her first child, Issac, when she was 17.
Is this California juvenile lockup the future of more effective juvenile justice system?
LOS ANGELES — Antonio was only 14 years old when he was charged with two counts of attempted murder in April 2012. Because of his age and the fact that he had no prior record and because there were strong indications that he didn’t know his much older co-defendant was going to shoot anyone, he seemed to be a strong candidate to be tried in juvenile court. Inexplicably, his appointed lawyer failed to vigorously fight to have Antonio tried as a juvenile, failed to call witnesses or ask questions at a probable cause hearing where Antonio’s lesser culpability could have been argued and failed to ensure that Antonio’s probation report was accurate and complete, according to interviews and court records. As a result of this litany of legal missteps, Antonio’s case was sent to adult court — where he suddenly was facing 90 years in prison if convicted. Such problems are far from unique.