ACLU gives bad marks to Ohio's juvenile justice system
State receives grade
of 'F' for practice of shackling children in courtrooms for any or no reason.
By Lou Grieco
Staff Writer
Wednesday,
February 11, 2009
DAYTON — The juvenile justice system is
failing Ohio children on several fronts, a statewide study has found, but the
Montgomery County Public Defender's Office says significant progress has been
made locally on the issues listed in the study.
The study released Tuesday, Feb. 10, was
done by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Ohio, the Children's
Law Center Inc. and the Office of the Ohio Public Defender.
Offered in the form of a report card, it
graded Ohio in five subjects:
• Wavier of counsel:
"Incomplete." In 24 of Ohio's 88 counties, more than 90 percent of
juveniles facing delinquency charges were not represented by counsel.
According to Kay Locke, manager of the
Montgomery County Public Defender's juvenile division, the court's policy is
that any child charged with a felony-level crime or a misdemeanor count of
domestic violence will automatically be appointed an attorney.
• Shackling of juveniles: "F."
Children may be shackled in Ohio courtrooms for any or no reason. Montgomery
County was specifically listed.
Locke said this is not a problem in the
new juvenile justice center. Attorneys ask for children to be unshackled during
hearings and unless the child is disruptive, violent or is a flight risk,
judges generally agree.
• Juvenile transfers to be tried as
adults: "C minus." Ohio is one of 15 states that remove the transfer
decision from judges for certain offenses, mandating that children must be
charged as adults.
Locke said certain criteria still need to
be met for automatic transfer, and local judges have been careful and
selective.
• Rates of juvenile detention and
commitment: "C." Ohio detains and incarcerates a greater percentage
of its adolescent population than most states.
In Montgomery County, officials use a
"hit list" so that most children are in detention for a couple of
days, Locke said. The exceptions — those facing major felony charges.
• Disproportionate minority confinement:
"Incomplete." In 2006, for every white child in custody, four
nonwhite children were.
Locke said one of the juvenile court magistrates
is studying this issue, including looking for grant funding for programming.
