For years, juvenile justice advocates and others have been fighting for reform of Los Angeles County’s ghastly juvenile panel attorney system that has meant inadequate legal defense for many of the county’s kids facing criminal court cases.
Finally it appears that reform may be nearly at hand with a motion up for a vote by the LA County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
The motion, introduced by Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl, calls for the establishment of a new juvenile indigent defense structure that would entitle LA kids to be represented by the Alternate Public Defender in cases in which the Public Defender is unable to represent them. (In cases in which neither the Public Defender nor the Alternate Public Defender are able to provide indigent defense services, The LA County Bar Association would administer and oversee court-appointed attorneys.)
As it stands now, when public defenders are unable to represent juvenile defendants (because of a conflict of interest or other issue), the kids get bounced to private “panel attorneys,” who are paid the staggeringly low flat-fee stipend of between $340-$360 for the duration of a case, no matter how complicated or lengthy the case might be.
Furthermore, while most public defenders are provided with such legal nicities as investigators or subject matter experts when needed, except in the rarest of instances, panel attorneys are not, no matter how important those resources might be for a young person’s case. As a consequence, too many panel attorneys simply cannot or do not put on an adequate defense for their young clients, leading to legal outcomes that are arguably decided by money (or lack thereof) rather than justice.
With these concerns in mind, two years ago, the LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion by Supe. Mark Ridley-Thomas to conduct an analysis of the current juvenile indigent defense system—-including how panel attorneys are compensated.
In March of this year, County CEO Sachi Hamai returned with the required analysis in the form of a 258-page report prepared by the Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at UC Berkeley School of Law.
Tuesday’s motion is in response to the Warren Institute/Berkeley Law School report and its alarming findings.
(And, for the record, Ridley-Thomas’ 2014 motion was in response to a study by Loyola Law School Professor–and Probation Commissioner–Cyn Yamashiro, that illuminated serious problems within LA’s system of panel attorneys.)
(For more back story on Tuesday’s motion see WitnessLA’s previous story on the matter by Taylor Walker.)
“Every child in LA County is entitled to quality, competent and effective legal counsel,” said Supervisor Kuehl. “This motion will ensure that happens. Juvenile defense attorneys play a critically important role. They determine whether juveniles will be prosecuted as adults, and they not only defend their young clients, they advocate for mental health, substance abuse and other services that may benefit these young people. We know that juveniles who receive a quality defense and the services they need are much more likely to be set on a path toward successful adulthood.”
We’ll let you know what happens with the vote. So stay tuned.
WOMEN’S JAIL CONSTRUCTION PROTESTS
The LA County Board of Supes is also expected to vote to approve the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Mira Loma Women’s Detention Center—AKA the new women’s jail. A sizable line-up of community representatives and advocates are expected to show up at the board meeting to make clear their opposition to the new jail construction. There will be a multi-group press conference at 11 a.m. and hearing at 1 p.m. at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, at 500 West Temple in downtown Los Angeles.