New ban on texting while driving

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New laws targeting teens and distracted driving go into effect July 1.  No more texting behind the wheel.  Teens with provisional licenses can’t use a cell phone at all. Governor Perdue signed SB 360, better known as "Caleb’s Law", Friday, despite reservations about how it’s going to be enforced.  And the law isn’t just for teens.  Police will be on the lookout for any driver reading, writing or sending emails. SB360 is named after a Dahlonega teen who crashed and died while texting and driving last December. WSAV reports teen drivers caught texting or talking on the phone face a $150 fine, which doubles if they have an accident.   Despite reservations about how “Caleb’s Law” will be enforced, Gov. Perdue states in a press release that “We need to do everything possible to focus young drivers on the road ahead.” The Atlanta Journal Constitution says the legislature plans to revisit the texting law next year to clarify parts of it.

Crime victim advocate is unsung hero

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The new Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights expands the role of victims in juvenile court proceedings across the state, from victim impact testimony to restitution.  Even with expanded rights, many crime victims need help getting through the process.  They get that help from advocates like Virginia Gallemore, who works in the Bibb County District Attorney’s Office.  Her job is to help victims understand their rights, help them with paperwork, find counseling, and hold their hands through difficult hearings.  The Macon Telegraph profiles Gallemore and the role of these advocates.

Youth Promise Act draws star power

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A campaign to get federal funding for youth violence prevention programs in urban centers is gathering steam in the entertainment industry.  Media mogul Russell Simmons has joined the movement to support the Youth Promise Act, H.R. 1064, pending in Congress. Simmons writes about it in his blog for the Huffington Post:

“Every year in America, 600,000 youth are confined in a jail or prison... With the White House ready to address this growing issue, we need a proven cost-effective way of reducing youth violence.”

The Youth Promise Act would amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.  Some provisions include:

Local oversight and control of funds. Custom tailored plans created for each community. Creation of a National Research Center for Proven Juvenile Justice Practices

Celebrities, sports figures, gang experts and politicians are joining the cause on Facebook,  Twitter, and YouTube.  They released a video last week.  Supporters include NFL star and civil rights activist Jim Brown, actress Robin Wright, Baron Davis of the NBA, and Congressional sponsor Bobby Scott (D- Virginia).  On his website Scott says, "The Youth PROMISE Act represents a paradigm shift in the way we address juvenile crime policy in America.  Instead of doing what is politically expedient, we have the opportunity to both reduce crime and save money."

Prison costs burden Georgia as other states test alternatives

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Georgia taxpayers spend $1 billion dollars a year locking up criminals in prison.  An eye-opening analysis by the Atlanta Journal Constitution shows one in 70 Georgians is behind bars and each offender costs $49 a day.  It is not because the state has more crime, but because sentencing laws are tougher here, keeping criminals behind bars longer.  In the first of a two-part series, the AJC raises questions about Georgia’s tough-on-crime stand, and whether it’s worth the cost at a time when the state is cutting teachers, transportation and critical programs.  Even some conservative policymakers like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) are studying alternatives to prison.  In a surprising interview, Gingrich argues treatment programs for non-violent offenders work, and can be safer and less expensive. In part two, the AJC reports about 2-thirds of inmates locked up are non-violent. For them, alternatives such as drug courts and work-release might work and save money.  Other states across the south, such as Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas are working on research-based alternatives.

Supreme Court bans life without parole

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The Supreme Court decision to ban life without parole for children in all cases except murder affects 37 states with laws on the books, including Georgia.  But it does not appear that any Georgia inmates are candidates for release at this time. The ruling reversed a life without parole sentence for  Terrance Graham, a Florida man who was 17 when he committed a home invasion robbery, just six months after another robbery. As the Miami Herald reports, the high court agreed he belongs in prison, but said, “it does not follow that he would be a risk to society for the rest of his life.''

An analysis in the Christian Science Monitor cites studies showing young people are less able to assess risk, control impulses, and process consequences.  Justice Kennedy wrote that they are also more capable of change.  Cutting off that possibility amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment. Seven states already ban life without parole for juveniles.  Eleven more statesare considering similar laws.

House Passes Time-Served Bill for Juvenile Offenders

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Children who are locked up in detention centers while waiting for court dates may get credit for time served under a bill that has passed in the Georgia House.  HB 1144 would require the state to treat juvenile offenders the same way it treats adults. Sponsors call it a "fairness issue as well as a budget issue".  If it passes in the Senate, the plan will free up beds in the juvenile justice system, and allow the state to cut some costs. AJC.com
Macon.com
HB1144

Courts Automation Commission gets Hard Look as State Hunts for Budget Cuts

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The Georgia Courts Automation Commission has spent $2.4 million in the last five years to study computers and technology that could unify software systems in courts across the state. That would make it easier to track cases, gather data and share information.  But the AJC reports the Commission has no real power and the majority of local courts are ignoring its recommendations. As lawmakers search for $1 billion in budget cuts, some are wondering if the Courts Automation Commission should be abolished.  Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) says, “This commission is like a study committee gone mad.”

But many judges support the agency and its mission to improve technology. Douglas County Superior Court Judge David Emerson says the work is “desperately needed.”

Georgia Teens Argue for New Juvenile Code

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Atlanta's online teen news forum, Vox, has joined JustGeorgia in a campaign to change the state's juvenile laws.   Here's part of the latest Vox post from 19 year Giovan Bazan:

The lives of countless youth are dictated by a juvenile justice system that is flawed and a code that is severely outdated. Up until recently, teens have been idly watching as their lives change for the worse either because they didn’t know how to speak out and demand change or they were unable to. Currently, the Georgia General Assembly is convening at the State Capitol, revising the laws that affect all of us teens. The Georgia Code’s Juvenile Court Provision (Juvenile Code) is a series of laws that governs how our state responds to minors and their families in cases of abuse, neglect, violations of criminal law by children and other circumstances requiring court intervention. The laws were enacted in 1971, long before any of us teens were ever born.

Sexting Laws: Are They Too Tough on Teens?

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Two 14-year olds at the exclusive Lovett School in Buckhead are under investigation in a sexting scandal, as lawmakers in Georgia and across the country debate exactly how to punish children for a crime they may not understand.

Is Georgia Diversion Policy Endangering Children?

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Children’s Rights, Inc. a national advocacy group,  filed a motion in federal court this month in an effort to force the State to turn over documents related to diversion, safety resources and temporary guardianships of children in Fulton and DeKalb counties. The group is concerned that DFCS is artificially suppressing the number of investigations and the number of children in foster care, leaving abused and neglected children in danger. Read more from Beth Locker’s blog at Voices for Georgia’s Children