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SJDC successfully develops and advocates for the passage of Georgia juvenile defense attorney performance standards
Read the Standards: http://www.gpdsc.com/cpdsystem-standards-juvenile_cases.pdf
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On December 10, 2004 after several months of SJDC joint efforts with the staff of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, (GPDSC) the Council voted to approve performance standards for juvenile defense attorneys throughout Georgia.
At the December GPDSC meeting Mary Ann Scali, Deputy Director of the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Center, and Karen Worthington, Director of SJDC, presented to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council regarding the ethical duties of juvenile defense attorneys and applauded the Council's proposed standards. Juvenile Court Judge Velma Tilley also attended the meeting to provide a judicial perspective to the ethical landscape in juvenile court.
SJDC's presence at this meeting was directly related to the September 24, 2004 presentation to the Council by SJDC director Karen Worthington and State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver regarding the importance of juvenile defense. (See below.) |
Read Mary Ann Scali's, Deputy Director of the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Center, remarks to the Public Defender Standards Council.
Remarks |
After several hours of debate and discussion the Council voted 7-2 to adopt the juvenile standards with two amendments and comments to be attached to the standards.
SJDC is very pleased that the Council took the time and energy to deliberate and fully contemplate the unique issues of juvenile court. SJDC plans to continue to advocate for reinstatement of the complete juvenile advocacy division within the central GPDSC office and state funding for juvenile defense attorneys.
There is symbolic value in having a declared office that is solely dedicated to the development of juvenile defense as a specialty area of law. This sends a message to the executive and judicial branches that in Georgia children’s rights are taken seriously and that children are not going to be the first group offered up when resources are being cut.
Without state funding for juvenile defense attorneys, the county is left responsible for the financial costs of providing indigent defense services for children. As a result, part of the financial concerns that led inadequate services for adult criminal defense and a lawsuit by the Southern Center for Human Right remain in place for juvenile court.
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Why Georgia needs to provide state funding for juvenile indigent defense attorneys:
- This funding would help ensure that attorneys who represent children in juvenile court proceedings have adequate training, adequate investigative assistance, and reasonable caseloads. Without these resources, attorneys cannot represent their juvenile clients in a way that is acceptable under the Constitution.
- This funding will help ensure that we do not incarcerate children unnecessarily. Children who get caught up in the juvenile justice system are more likely than their peers to wind up in the adult criminal justice system. It is critical that children receive adequate services at their first entry into the system – including services to ensure that they are not found to be delinquent or placed in custody inappropriately.
- This funding will ensure that justice is not made available by geography. The elimination of all state funding for children's indigent defense services, leaves the financial responsibility with the county commission. The current condition of the juvenile defense system proves that this funding is not adequate in many places, especially in the poorest of counties.
- Read a written summary of Georgia Indigent Defense reports to date with recommendations for Georgia's juvenile indigent defense system
SJDC Director Karen Worthington and Georgia State Representative Mary Margaret Oliver present to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council
September 24, 2004
On September 21, 2004 Karen Worthington and Representative Mary Margaret Oliver presented to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council regarding the importance of juvenile defense and need for professional defenders.
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The following is an excerpt from Karen Worthington's remarks. To read the full text click here.
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"Representing children is a specialized area of legal practice requiring ongoing training and a full-time commitment to the practice. Representing children should be a career choice rather than a step on a career ladder. Zealous advocacy demands that lawyers representing children have to not only be good trial lawyers and understand criminal and juvenile law, they have to know about child development; the effects of trauma on brain development; adolescent development; competence and culpability issues; how to ethically work with young clients; how to speak with children; what treatment and intervention options are available; how to access funds to get children the services they need; the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and the list goes on. I urge you, as you shape Georgia’s indigent defense system, to create a system that values the constitutional rights of children and values and supports those who protect the rights of children." |
SJDC's Recommendations to the Council
- The most immediate issue SJDC is concerned about is state funding for public defenders for juveniles. I urge you to continue to press for statewide funding for public defenders for adults and children, and to draw upon whatever partnerships and other resources are necessary to ensure this happens.
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The second concern has to do with Gault’s promise that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a right to counsel when a juvenile is facing a loss of liberty. I urge you to create a standard for determining indigence that presumes indigence when the accused is a juvenile. Parents are often in an adversarial role in relation to their children in juvenile court proceedings so it is inappropriate to use their income in determining the child’s indigency. Related to this, there should not be an application fee to determine indigence for juveniles requesting a public defender.
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Third, I urge you, over the next few years, to work with a coalition of attorneys, judges, and advocates to enact legislation prohibiting juveniles from waiving their right to counsel without first consulting with an attorney. Significant research from a variety of disciplines supports the proposition that juveniles should not be able to waive their right to counsel, or if they can waive it, they should only do so after consultation with an attorney. Juveniles are vulnerable in ways that adults are not and research shows that more often than not, they lack the capacity for a knowing and voluntary waiver of counsel.
Read the full text of Karen Worthington's remarks.
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