Student Files Suit for Being Handcuffed to File Cabinet for Day

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A civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Atlanta Public School system and the Atlanta Police Department by a student who says officers handcuffed him to a file cabinet for the school day, reports The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The lawsuit says Tony Smith, a former student at Grady High School, was taken by officers and a assistant principal to a small room where he was handcuffed. The suit says Smith did nothing wrong, but only witnessed a student take two dollars from another student’s wallet. The incident occurred in 2009. The suit also said the two Atlanta Police officers had been found by the city’s Citizen Review Board earlier to have violated police department procedures.

DAI Bill is DOA

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A bill that would make decisions uniform about incarcerating juvenile offenders will not become law this year. “I’ll be honest, this bill is not going anywhere,” said Catherine Lottie, legal counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, referring to H.B. 471. “The governor’s office hasn’t seen it and his people need time to look at it for a number of issues, including how much it will cost the state.”

The measure, sponsored by the committee’s chair, Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) deals with so-called detention assessment instruments  (DAIs), evaluations used by officials that help to determine if a juvenile should be incarcerated or not. DAIs allow intake officials to assign point values to juveniles who have been arrested. If the intake officer gives the accused a high enough score, the juvenile is detained.

President to Use Bully Pulpit to Address Bullying

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle will convene an anti-bullying conference at The White House, tomorrow, Thursday, March 10. The White House says the Conference on Bullying Prevention will include top officials from the Department of Education and Health and Human Services as well as students, parents, teachers and others who are trying to address the issue from across the nation. The conference will also include breakout sessions on proven policies that prevent bullying. The White House has been eager to engage a wider and younger audience on the issue, reaching out to people through social media. The president announced the conference on his Facebook page and has encouraged people to participate in the conference via live chats.

Eric Holder on Juvenile Justice

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said this week the Department of Justice would put a priority on improving the nation’s juvenile justice system. In a speech to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, Holder said the Department would place an emphasis on forming community partnerships and using evidence-based research in dealing with the issue. The attorney general also told the conference that it was time to answer some difficult questions concerning crime and race and the treatment of children. “Why,” Holder asked, “is it that, although African-American youth make up 16 percent of the overall youth population, they make up more than half of the juvenile population arrested for committing a violent crime? Why is it that abused and neglected children are 11 times more likely than their non-abused and non-neglected peers to be arrested for criminal behavior?

Got A (Unused) Ticket to The Yelawolf Concert?

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JJIE.org has been told that all did not go well at the Yelawolf concert at the Freight Depot, a music venue, near Underground Atlanta over the weekend. Loads of people who bought tickets (for about $15 a piece) could not get into the concert venue because security closed the doors before reaching capacity. Promoter D.J. Adam Golden, an up and coming Atlanta-based music promoter, takes full responsibility and is asking ticket holders to get in touch with him on Twitter or Facebook to get their money back before the end of today, Tuesday March 8. “The cops had to shut it down because of a lack of security and that was my fault,” said Golden. “I was in charge of staffing and everything else.

States Roll Back Prosecuting Teens as Adults

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An era of prosecuting juveniles as adults may be coming to an end in numerous states as criminal justice officials face a growing recognition that many underage offenders have been mishandled in the adult system, details a story in Sunday’s New York Times. While states from Connecticut to Wisconsin have started to roll back the generation’s old policies, many other states remain resistant to the change, citing the higher cost of adding more people to the juvenile systems at a time of crushing budget problems, says the paper.

Update: More Charges Filed in Wreck that Killed Teen

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Four adults have now been charged with supplying teens with alcohol ahead of a fatal car accident on Feb. 19 in Douglas County, according to the Sheriff’s Office. One of the adults charged is the county’s chief code enforcement officer, Todd McAllister. McAllister’s home was the site of one of two parties the teens attended the evening of the wreck. Another charged was Rocky Patel, a local story owner who allegedly sold alcohol to the teens.

DJJ Closes Griffin facility

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Georgia’s budget troubles surfaced today when the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) announced the closing of one of its youth detention centers, while its top official acknowledge that another shuttering would be announced in the coming days. The DJJ said the Griffin Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC), a 30-bed facility south west of Atlanta, would be closed due to the department’s budget shortfall of $5.4 million. DJJ Commissioner Amy Howell later told the JJIE another facility would also be closed, but declined to say which one. "We will be announcing the closure of another facility in the coming days," said Howell. The DJJ runs 22 RYDC’s in the state, including the one in Griffin.  Last year, the DJJ said up to four facilities, Griffin, Blakely, Claxton and Gwinnett, could be closed.

UPDATE: Funeral For Teen Killed in Auto Accident

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Funeral arrangements are being finalized for a teen killed in a weekend auto accident in Douglas County. Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Sauls was killed and two other teens – Taylor Cross, 19 and Jamie McManis, 15, were injured on Friday night when the vehicle they were riding in crashed. The driver, Jason Lark, 17, has been charged with DUI and vehicular homicide along with several other traffic violations, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The GSP says a 21-year-old was also in the vehicle but left the scene before emergency vehicles arrived. The Douglas County Sentinel reports that police have located the fifth passenger, a male, but have not released any details about him or his involvement in the accident.

Father of Dead Teen Says 21-Year-Old Bought Alcohol for Crash Victims

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The father of a teen killed in a Friday night crash says a 21-year-old provided alcohol to his daughter and other teens involved in the accident, according to CBSAtlanta.com

Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Sauls died, while Taylor Cross, 19, and Jamie McManis, 15, were injured when the vehicle they were in crashed in Douglas County, Ga., west of Atlanta, according to the Georgia State Patrol (GSP). Police have charged the driver, Jason Lark, 17, with DUI and vehicular homicide in addition to a number of other traffic violations. Eric Sauls’, the victim’s father, told CBS Atlanta that the 21-year-old left the scene of the accident before any emergency personnel arrived. While the public spokesperson for the GSP, Lt. Paul Cosper, said there was a fifth person involved, he could not confirm the age of the person. “We are still investigating who this person is,” said Cosper.