Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Juvenile Code Rewrite

By |

Proposals for a juvenile code re-write were approved Wednesday by Georgia’s state Senate Judiciary Committee, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Last month, the state House passed House Bill 242 (HB 242) with unanimous approval. The proposed legislation would eliminate the jailing of juveniles for status offenses such as truancy, as well as re-categorize designated felonies into two classes, based on the severity of crimes committed by young people. Before approving HB 242, the committee altered elements of the bill, most significantly, changing a requirement that extended the timeframe for which detained status offenders were guaranteed hearings. Originally, the bill required hearings for status offenders within 24 hours of being detained; however, the committee revised the period to 72 hours, citing concerns for staffers who may not be able to provide services for young people over weekends or on holidays.

Bill Sealing Washington State Juvenile Records Moves Closer to Law

By |

The Washington state House of Representatives unanimously passed a proposal Wednesday that would effectively seal most juvenile records from public view. House Bill 1651 reverses an almost four-decades-old state law that keeps most of Washington’s juvenile records open. Exceptions, however, are included for individuals found guilty of some sex offenses, arson and serious violent offenses, the Tacoma News Tribunes reported. Under the current law, juvenile offenders may petition the court to have their records sealed, but few requests are approved. If the new bill were to become a law, only judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys would have full access to juvenile records.

In Kentucky, Juvenile Offenders’ Names Could be Shared After Adjudication

By |

On Monday, members of the Kentucky House passed a bill that would allow victims in juvenile court trials to discuss a case once a verdict is rendered, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. House Bill 115 swept through the House with unanimous approval earlier this week, garnering a 93-0 vote in Kentucky’s lower legislative body. The bill stems from a 2011 sexual assault case involving Savannah Dietrich, then 16 years old, who was attacked by two underage football players at a Louisville, Ky., party. The two assailants struck a plea deal, resulting in 50 hours of community service and counseling. Dietrich, upset with what she considered lenient sentencing, tweeted the names of her attackers, violating a state gag order which prevented her from discussing details of the case to the public.

Georgia House Approves HB 242

By |

photo by Sayed Nairb
Thursday evening, the representatives in Georgia unanimously approved House Bill (HB) 242, which seeks to rewrite and streamline the state’s juvenile code. HB 242 would prohibit the jailing of juveniles for status offenses, as well as separate designated felonies into two classes of offense, depending on the severity of the crime. The bill incorporates recommendations from a 2012 Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council report, urging state policymakers to keep low-risk juvenile offenders out of state facilities. A major component of the proposed legislation involves more funding for community-based programs. Gov. Nathan Deal has already offered $5 million to court-developed programs intended to steer young people away from detention facilities. Some state representatives said that diverting young people from detention could save Georgia as much as $85 million over the next five years.

Wyoming Law Eliminating Mandatory Juvenile LWOP Won’t Be Retroactive

By |

Photo by Ryan Schill
A recently-passed Wyoming law barring mandatory life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders will not apply to the state’s prisoners currently serving life sentences for crimes they committed as minors, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. `
A bill signed earlier this month by Gov. Matthew Mead allows opportunities for parole after 25 years for juveniles with life sentences. When the law becomes effective this summer, it will not retroactively reduce the sentences of those already serving life without parole sentences for juvenile offenses within the state, according to Deputy Attorney General Dave Delicath. “Their sentences were within the law allowed at the time,” Delicath told the Star-Tribune. “The statute doesn’t change anything for them.”

Prior to the law’s passage, juveniles in Wyoming convicted of murder could be given sentences of life with or without parole.

Georgia Juvenile Justice Reform Bill Clears Committee

By |

A major reformation of Georgia’s juvenile justice system took a significant step toward passage in the state’s General Assembly Tuesday after it was voted out of the House Judiciary Committee. As JJIE reported earlier this month, the 244-page House Bill 242 grew out of a recommendation report from the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council and a years-long effort to update the state’s juvenile code. Much of the bill is modeled on reforms in other states such as Texas and Ohio. “The way we’re doing things now is not good for the children, so we’re altering those programs,” the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the committee, state Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday. The bill includes reforms meant to address high recidivism rates and ease overcrowding in detention centers by placing a greater emphasis on community-based alternatives.

Hearings Soon on Georgia Juvenile Justice Overhaul

By |

Georgia’s 244-page revision to its treatment of juvenile delinquents includes diversion ideas from the likes of Texas and Ohio as well as the idea used in many states of intervening with children before they commit a crime. House Bill 242 is the sum of months of research, a recommendation report from the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Council, and a code update that’s been in the works for several years. “The governor agreed to have the Council’s recommendations incorporated into what we were doing last year, which involved not only a rewrite of the juvenile code but also some policy changes,” said state Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, the bill’s sponsor. The attorney has led the years-long work on the existing code. The key recommendation from the 2012 report from the Council, a blue-ribbon panel of 20 judges, attorneys, legislators and law enforcement, was that low-risk juveniles be kept near home or at home for treatment, restorative justice and other consequences of rule-breaking.

Proposed Neb. Bill Replaces Juvenile LWOP with 20-Year Minimum Sentence

By |

A Nebraska state senator is proposing legislation that would replace juvenile life without parole sentences with 20-year-minimum terms, although some offenders could be up for parole after 10 years behind bars. State Sen. Brad Ashford (I-Omaha) presented the bill to the state’s Judiciary Committee Feb. 8, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Currently, 27 inmates in Nebraska’s prisons are serving life without parole sentences for crimes committed as juveniles. In total, more than 250 other prisoners are housed in state facilities for offenses committed as juveniles.

Georgia’s High Court Chief Justice Calls for Reform

By |

A call for juvenile justice reform, in Georgia and across the nation, was the main focus of Georgia’s State of the Judiciary Address today. Speaking before the state’s General Assembly in her fourth and final address, Georgia state Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, said the majority of kids in the juvenile justice system deserve a second chance. “When did we stop believing that children are different from adults and that teenagers do stupid things, act impulsively and consider themselves immortal?” she asked. “When did we forget what we were like as teenagers?”

To read the entire prepared address click here.

Texas State Senator Calls for Transfer of Violent Juvenile Offenders to Adult System

By |

A Texas state senator wants to create a new system of youth prisons for the state’s 17- and 18-year-old offenders, the Austin American-Statesman reported last week. Sen. John Whitmire (D-Houston), chairman of the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said his proposal would operate as a division of Texas’ adult prison system. Under the new system, older teens with violent offenses would be transferred from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC). Most likely, he said that the first wave of transferred juveniles would be placed in a Youthful Offender Program in a Houston-area prison, which currently holds fewer than 100 inmates. The program might be expanded to include as many as 500 beds.