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INDIANA
Study: courts failing poor youths —
inadequate counsel seen as Indiana's key flaw
Poor children in Indiana's juvenile courts don't get
adequate legal representation and are more likely to be incarcerated
than wealthier peers, according to a report that calls the state's
public defender system "seriously flawed." Taxpayers pick up the bill:
$40,000 to $100,000 annually per incarcerated child. "If this were
happening in any other country, Amnesty International and our government
would be there condemning it," said Larry A. Landis, executive director
of the Indiana Public Defender Council, "but we do it every day." The
report, to be released today, said: Nearly half of the 26,000 youths in
juvenile cases are not represented by counsel, with the rate as high as
80 percent in some counties. Courts fail to adequately explain the
consequences of not having an attorney. The appointment of public
defenders occurs too late in the process to give defenders time to
represent their clients adequately.
Many public defenders have excessive caseloads and
inadequate resources to provide "zealous advocacy." Schools and child
welfare agencies clog courts with children better served through other
community programs. "The most disturbing finding . . . is that it has
become a tolerated, if not accepted, practice . . . that youth go
unrepresented by counsel, even during some of the most critical
proceedings that affect their liberty interests," the authors wrote in
"Indiana -- An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of
Representation in Delinquency Proceedings." The report quotes an
unidentified magistrate who oversees juvenile cases: "If I were facing
charges, I would hate to think I was meeting the attorney for the first
time on the day of the trial," she told researchers.
The National Juvenile Defender Center and the
Children's Law Center conducted the state's first comprehensive review
in conjunction with the Indiana Juvenile Justice Task Force, which
commissioned the study. Findings are based on visits to courts and
interviews with juveniles, parents, judges and attorneys in 11 counties
that constitute a representative sample of the state, said Bill Glick,
executive director of the Juvenile Justice Task Force. The report does
not break out data for individual counties or compare Indiana with other
states, but it includes 11 recommendations that call on the legislature,
county officials, judges and attorneys to improve the quality of
services to indigent youths. The recommendations include making public
defenders independent of the court system and prohibiting juveniles from
waiving their right to counsel without consulting an attorney.
Elizabeth Kehoe, staff attorney for the juvenile
defender center and one of the report's authors, said Indiana is not
unique. "Money and resources are a problem everywhere," she said. Glick
said the report confirms what many involved in the juvenile justice
system already knew or suspected. The reasons some youths did not obtain
representation ranged from a conscious choice by the child or parents to
pressure from prosecutors, probation officers and judges. Glick said the
money spent to incarcerate juveniles could be put to better use. "For
$40,000, you could hire another half-time public defender or send a kid
to Harvard," he said. "If public defenders had the time and resources,
and got involved in cases earlier, we could send more kids to intensive
community-based services, get better outcomes and save money, too."
Counties pay for public defender services, but the state will reimburse
up to 40 percent of the cost if the county has an independent board to
supervise the programs. In 39 counties without the independent boards,
the defender system is controlled by a judge, which the report called a
serious conflict of interest. Boone Circuit Judge Steve David, president
of the Indiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, said Indiana
must do better to protect the rights of children. "There is no quick fix
to these problems," he said. "Certainly more money is needed, but money
itself . . . is not necessarily going to solve some of the problems."
Landis, of the state public defender council, said
problems cited in the report stem from the larger issue of inadequate
funding for all public defender services in the state. He said Indiana
ranks 48th in per capita funding for public defenders. The problem has
lingered in juvenile courts because they fly under the public radar and
few cases are appealed, which Landis said is a critical component of
ensuring high-quality representation. That is compounded because the law
allows juvenile judges to act as disciplinarian parents rather than
neutral referees. "At this point, we don't need to point fingers or
assess blame," Landis said. "What we need to do is acknowledge the
problem, say 'shame on us' and figure out how to do better." Glick said
that is the task force's goal. "We hope this report will stir some
interest in the issue," he said, "and lead to some rules changes in
courts and build support for funding to hire more attorneys and expand
training and education."
Tim Evans
12 April 2006
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/NEWS01/604120490/1006/NEWS01
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