This year has been exceedingly challenging for students in California owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures and financial hardships have created a climate of despair for millions of young people. Mental health services are needed now more than ever in order to prevent school suspensions and expulsions. Mental illness often plays a role in the school-to-prison pipeline.

Juvenile justice is a topic of utmost importance at the Law Offices of Katie Walsh. We are pleased to announce some significant changes in Los Angeles County proposed by the new district attorney—George Gascón.

Last week, the District Attorney for Los Angeles County announced his plans to shake up criminal prosecutions, The Los Angeles Times reports. Taking a page out of the book he helped write as the District Attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019, Gascón plans to stop the practice of cash bail; he also wants to place a ban on prosecutors seeking enhanced prison sentences.

What’s more, he plans a review of thousands of old cases to see if less harsh sentences are warranted. Gascón office will also determine if prisoner releases should be meted out.

“I recognize for many this is a new path … whether you are a protester, a police officer or a prosecutor, I ask you to walk with me. I ask you to join me on this journey,” said Gascón during his swearing-in ceremony. “We can break the multigenerational cycles of violence, trauma and arrest and recidivism that has led America to incarcerate more people than any other nation.”

Trying Juveniles as Adults

The shift in policy regarding bail will certainly be a hot-button topic. However, starting January 1, prosecutors in Gascón’s office will ask judges to release plaintiffs, except in homicide or other violent felony cases.

“How much money you have in your bank account is a terrible proxy for how dangerous you are,” Gascón said. “Today there are hundreds of people languishing in jails, not because they represent a danger to our community but because they can’t afford to purchase their freedom.”

Prisoners who’ve served 20 years or more might be granted parole if the new district attorney has his way. Moreover, Gascón has vowed that his office will never seek the death penalty. Gascón’s plans also extend to juveniles. He promises to end the practice of trying juveniles as adults.

Jerod Gunsberg, a Los Angeles juvenile criminal defense attorney, praised Gascón for his goal of no longer trying minors as adults, according to the article. He points out that the practice has had “deep, negative effects on accused teenagers and society as a whole.”

“I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve never seen a kid go into a juvenile probation camp and come out better. Ever,” said Gunsberg. “I’ve never seen a kid have a strike filed on them, at 16 years old and it improve their life or enhance public safety in any way.”

Juvenile Defense Attorney

Please contact the Law Offices of Katie Walsh if your son or daughter faces legal difficulties or school expulsion. Attorney Walsh has the experience to advocate for your family and achieve a favorable outcome. She has handled thousands of juvenile cases, and as a former prosecutor, she knows the ins and outs of the juvenile court system.

In 2011, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama led California lawmakers to pass legislation that would give prisoners convicted as youths a second chance. One such individual is William Palmer, who at the age of 17 held an off-duty police officer at gunpoint demanding money. The Marshall Project recently examined Palmer’s case.

As a minor, Mr. Palmer ordered the off-duty officer to go to an ATM to withdraw cash. However, the victim was also armed and managed to fire a salvo of bullets at the perpetrator. Palmer was wounded in the knee and eventually apprehended.

The year was 1988, and it was a time when several states were simultaneously passing ‘tough on crime’ laws. As such, someone like Palmer could receive a life sentence for attempted armed robbery. The judge presiding over Palmer’s case decided to hand down a life sentence with the possibility of parole, according to the exposé. However, all of Palmer’s attempts to be released from prison were rejected by the parole board; Mr. Palmer was denied on ten separate occasions over the years.

Palmer was finally released from prison after filing an appeal, but he is not in the clear yet. His case is poised to go before the California Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court’s Decision Could Impact Thousands of Prisoners

Palmer was expelled from school in 10th grade and left home at 16, according to the article. There is a growing body of research that suggests that the decisions people make as young people are not a predictor of a life of crime — Mr. Palmer’s attorneys plan to cite those types of studies before the Supreme Court.

While in prison, Palmer did have a few minor infractions that may have influenced the parole board’s repeated rejections. However, Palmer’s time behind bars was not wasted; he earned a GED and an associate degree, the article reports. What’s more, he took part in programs to help him better understand the impact of his crimes.

The issue at hand, the California Supreme Court must decide whether the parole board took Palmer’s youth into account when they rejected his release. The Court of Appeal found that the parole board had not considered his age at the time of his crime and ordered the parole board to conduct another hearing which led to his release.

However, the California Attorney General’s Office asked the Supreme Court to review the case. If the justices side with Palmer, it could lay out a path to release for other young offenders serving lengthy sentences. If he loses, it’s back to prison, and Palmer will have to go before the board once again.

“I hope it means more people will see freedom earlier for things they did when they were children,” said Megan Havstad, Palmer’s lawyer.

California Juvenile Law Attorney

Please reach out to The Law Offices of Katie Walsh if your son or daughter requires legal assistance. Attorney Walsh has significant experience advocating for young people and their families. We invite you to request a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you during this difficult time.

Governor Jerry Brown signed two measures over the weekend relevant to juvenile justice in California, Senate Bill 439 and Senate Bill 1391. You may remember that we have covered both pieces of legislation at length in the last year; SB 1391 we wrote about as recently as last week when it was still uncertain that Brown would pen his name to the proposed bills.

On Sunday, Gov. Brown approved SB 439 which establishes 12 years as the minimum age for prosecution in juvenile court, unless the offense is murder or rape, The Sacramento Bee reports. He also gave SB 1391 his stamp of approval which eliminates the ability to try a defendant under the age of 16 as an adult, keeping more young people out of prison.

Juvenile justice reform is a cause championed by Sens. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, and Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens. Both lawmakers have worked tirelessly in recent years to get SB 439 and SB 1391 to the Governor’s desk, and succeeded. The measures go into effect next year.

“There is a fundamental principle at stake here: whether we want a society which at least attempts to reform the youngest offenders before consigning them to adult prisons where their likelihood of becoming a lifelong criminal is so much higher,” Brown wrote. He added, “My view is that we should continue to work toward a more just system that respects victims, protects public safety, holds youth accountable, and also seeks a path of redemption and reformation whenever possible.”

Cradle to Prison Pipeline

Please take a moment to watch a short video of Sen. Holly Mitchell, the coauthor of SB 1391, as she discusses the “cradle to prison pipeline.” You can find the video here.

As was mentioned in previous posts, not everyone in California is in favor juvenile justice reforms that aim to emphasize rehabilitation over incarceration. Various law enforcement groups object to both measures, according to the article. However, advocates for SB 439 and SB 1391 argue that teens don’t fully understand the ramifications of their actions – the difference between right and wrong – owing to their brains not being fully developed; they contend that incarceration increases the risk of committing more crimes down the road and recidivism.

“Children are not pint-sized adults. Instead, they should be cared for with an emphasis on rehabilitation — not warehousing,” Mitchell said.

California Juvenile Defense

Attorney Katie Walsh has the experience to advocate for families whose children are facing legal trouble effectively. Please contact the Law Offices of Katie Walsh require a juvenile defense lawyer in California. Attorney Walsh can help you obtain the best possible outcome for your son or daughter’s case.

Keeping young people away from the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice system is of the utmost importance. People who get into trouble with the law at a young age are at significant risk of having run-ins in the future. Young people – more often than not – do not understand that their choices can have a lasting impact on the course of their life. Education is one of the most effective ways of deterring young people from making risky decisions and helping them stay on track.

Across the country and in California, there exist outreach programs designed to enlighten young people about what can happen if they break the law, i.e., expulsion, probation, and juvenile detention. However, the people who run such programs often use fear tactics to keep young people on the straight and narrow. But, as any parent knows, adolescents are stubborn and will usually do the exact opposite of what they are told. It’s likely that many of you have heard or read about “Scared Straight.”

The ‘Scared Straight’ program targets juvenile delinquents or children at risk for criminal behavior and brings them to see the inside of a prison, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The goal is that when young people understand what life is like on the “inside,” they will be deterred from future offenses. However, there is a large body of research that calls into question the efficacy of scaring children into obedience and compliance.

Law and Leadership Academy

Toward the end of July, prosecutors working within the Riverside District Attorney’s Crime Prevention Unit held a 5-day program to raise awareness about what happens within the criminal justice system, Desert Sun reports. The Law and Leadership Academy, created by Amy McKenzie in 2016, takes a different approach than Scared Straight to prevent youth crime. Instead of singling out kids who are at risk of trouble, school counselors choose students who will participate in the program because they have expressed an interest in law enforcement. McKenzie believes crime prevention can be achieved through education and community outreach.

“Community outreach and crime prevention go hand-in-hand. We feel the more transparent our office is to the community and the more we get our message out there helps deter crime,” said McKenzie.

The Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice reports that the felony arrest rate for youth ages 10-17 was 271 per 100,000 in Riverside County in 2016. The Department of Juvenile Justice reports that within three-years, 74 percent of youth arrested in California are rearrested.

Prosecutors Mike Tripp and Hawlee Valente say that the academy is about more than getting young people excited about careers in the field of criminal justice. The goal is that participants will share their newfound wisdom with their peers back in school.

“Our hope is that they act as little ambassadors. Because not everyone gets to do this; there are adults who never get to see the inner-workings of the criminal justice system. They take this back to their school and back to their family and they get a completely different view,” Tripp said.

Juvenile Defense Attorney

Please contact The Law Offices Katie Walsh if your son or daughter is facing legal troubles. Attorney Walsh has extensive experience if the field of juvenile justice and will advocate for your family to achieve the best possible outcome.

It is probably not hard for most people to understand why youth in juvenile detention facilities usually do better in the long run than young people serving time in prison. Once a person is caught up in the adult criminal justice system, the likelihood of recidivism is exceedingly high. With that in mind and citing research, California Governor Jerry Brown is asking for $3.8 million in his final budget proposal to fund allowing youth offenders longer stays in juvenile justice facilities, The Sacramento Bee reports. The plan underwent review by the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Corrections, Public Safety and the Judiciary during a hearing on March 22, 2018.

As it stands right now, juvenile offenders in California can remain in Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities until their 23rd birthday, according to the report. If a person’s sentence hasn’t come to an end by that time, the remainder is to be served in an adult correctional facility. Brown’s budget proposal, among other things, aims to lengthen stay caps in DJJ housing facilities. So, let’s take a look at what the proposal would mean for young people in the juvenile justice system if approved.

Rehabilitation, Not Recidivism

First, a California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR) report shows that 74.2 percent of youth released from a DJJ facility in 2011-12 were re-arrested within three years; even still, DJJ inmates had lower recidivism rates than youth prison inmates. More funding would cover the cost of keep youth offenders in DDJ housing until 25, mitigating the risk of a young person being transferred to adult correctional facilities, the article reports. The money would allow for juveniles, convicted in adult court, to serve their time in DJJ facilities if they can complete their sentence by their 25th birthday.

Lastly, Brown’s budget proposal would cover the cost of creating a young adult offender pilot program. The CDCR would be able to place 76 less dangerous youth offenders in two unique juvenile housing centers, rather than prison. The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) projects juvenile detention is far more costly than adult prison, $80,000 versus $30,000 each year. Two years from now, the 2020 budget proposal would require $9.2 million annually to cover the costs of extended stays in juvenile detention. It is worth noting that it may cost more to fund longer stays up front, but it will save money over time, according to the LAO.

Frankie Guzman, director of the National Center for Youth Law’s California Youth Justice Initiative, supports Brown’s proposal; but, believes that community-based programs, instead of DDJ housing for less serious offenders, would be even more useful. Please take a moment to watch a short video on the subject here.

Juvenile Offense Attorney

At the Law Offices of Katie Walsh, we specialize in juvenile law. If your son or daughter is facing criminal charges, Attorney Walsh can assist you and your family in many ways. Please contact our office for a free consultation.