MISSOURI: JUSTICE RATIONED an Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Juvenile Defense Representation in Delinquency Proceedings
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MISSOURI: JUSTICE RATIONED An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Juvenile Defense Representation in Delinquency Proceedings Spring 2013 National Juvenile Defender Center Central Juvenile Defender Center MISSOURI: JUSTICE RATIONED An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Juvenile Defense Representation in Delinquency Proceedings Written by: Mary Ann Scali Kim Tandy with Jaime Michel Jordan Pauluhn In collaboration with: Sarah Bergen Tim Curry Nadia Seeratan David Shapiro With assistance from: Rey Banks Angela Chang Emily Pelletier ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to thank the juvenile defenders across Missouri who took time out of their busy schedules to meet with our assessment teams and share their experiences, successes, and challenges in representing indi- gent children in juvenile court. We would also like to thank the judges, legal of"cers, deputy juvenile of"cers, detention staff, administrators, and others across the state of Missouri who allowed us into their courtrooms and facilities, spoke candidly with us in interviews, and con"ded in us about their views of and experiences with juvenile indigent defense in their counties. We could not have conducted this assessment without the support and guidance of many, most notably, Cathy Kelly, Director of the Missouri State Public Defender Of"ce; Chief Justice Richard B. Teitelman, Missouri Su- preme Court; Judge William R. Price Jr., former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice; Judge Patricia Breck- enridge, Missouri Supreme Court; Tim Decker, Director of Missouri’s Division of Youth Services; Karen Kraft, Division Director, Missouri State Public Defender Of"ce; Patricia Harrison, Assistant Clinical Professor, St. Louis University School of Law; Mae Quinn, Professor and Co-Director of the Civil Justice Clinic, Washington University School of Law; and Kathryn Pierce, Clinical Attorney, Washington University School of Law’s Civil Justice Clinic. We are also especially grateful for the thorough and dedicated work of the assessment team members who gener- ously donated their time and expertise to travel all over Missouri, conduct comprehensive interviews, observe delinquency court proceedings, analyze data, participate in meetings, transcribe their "ndings, and provide project staff with guidance, feedback, and insights. Members of the assessment team included: Jill Beeler Of!ce of the Ohio Public Defender, Ohio Sarah Bergen National Juvenile Defender Center, District of Columbia Stephen Bergman Maryland Of!ce of the Public Defender, Maryland Jackie Bullard State Appellate Defender’s Of!ce, Illinois Angela Chang Children’s Law Center, Kentucky Betsy Clarke Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative, Illinois Cathryn Crawford Independent Consultant, Texas Gerry Glynn Juvenile Justice Center, Florida Eileen Hirsch Wisconsin State Public Defender Of!ce, Wisconsin Carrie Lee Juvenile Justice Center, Florida MISSOURI 3 Jeff Liston Tyack, Blackmore & Liston, Co., L.P.A., Ohio Jaime Michel National Juvenile Defender Center, District of Columbia Christopher Northrop University of Maine Law School, Maine Patricia Puritz National Juvenile Defender Center, District of Columbia Lisa Thurau-Gray Strategies for Youth, Massachusetts Nadia Seeratan National Juvenile Defender Center, District of Columbia Eric Zogry Of!ce of the Juvenile Defender, North Carolina In addition, we appreciate the behind-the-scenes support of the National Juvenile Defender Center and Central Juvenile Defender Center staff, law clerks, and interns who worked hard to coordinate all site visits and logis- tics, prepared brie"ng binders, collected and analyzed data, and compiled and synthesized notes. We also thank Jordan Lawrence Pauluhn from Washington University School of Law, who provided substantial assistance with writing and editing this report. 4 MISSOURI TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 11 I. Purpose of Assessment ............................................................................................................... 12 II. Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 13 CHAPTER ONE: Due Process and the Role of Counsel in Delinquency Proceedings ....................................................................................................................... 15 I. The Evolution of Due Process and the Right to Counsel in Delinquency Proceedings ............................................................................................................ 15 II. The Role of Counsel in Delinquency Proceedings ................................................................ 17 III. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO: Legal Representation of Youth in Context ................................................ 19 I. The Right to Counsel in Missouri ............................................................................................. 19 II. System Structures in Missouri .................................................................................................... 19 A. Structure of Missouri’s Judicial System .................................................................. 19 B. Structure of Missouri’s Juvenile Justice System .................................................... 22 C. Structure of Missouri’s Indigent Defense System ................................................ 24 III. Overview of Delinquency Proceedings in Missouri: A Summary of the Juvenile Court Statute ............................................................................... 25 A. Juvenile Court Jurisdiction ........................................................................................ 25 B. Pre-Adjudication Custody and Detention ............................................................ 26 C. Diversion and Informal Adjustment ........................................................................ 28 D. Petition .......................................................................................................................... 28 E. Adjudication Hearing ................................................................................................. 29 F. Disposition ................................................................................................................... 29 G. Post-Disposition Proceedings .................................................................................. 30 H. Children in Adult Criminal Court ........................................................................... 31 IV. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 32 MISSOURI 5 CHAPTER THREE: Assessment Findings and Analysis ............................................................. 33 I. Barriers to Providing an Effective Juvenile Indigent Defense System ................................ 33 A. Inadequate Resources to Ensure Effective Juvenile Defense ............................ 33 B. Notable Service Delivery System for Youth but Insuf!cient Emphasis on Basic Due Process Guarantees .................................. 35 C. Structural Challenges Minimize the Role of Defense Counsel ........................ 37 II. Barriers Limiting Access to Counsel ......................................................................................... 38 A. Waiver of Counsel Among Children in the Juvenile Court is Alarmingly High ...................................................................................................... 38 B. The Process for Determining Indigence is Inconsistent, and in Some Jurisdictions Contributes to High Waiver Rates ...................................... 40 C. Counsel is Frequently Appointed Late in the Process After Critical Rights Have Been Forfeited by the Child ............................................... 41 III. Barriers to Effective Practice ...................................................................................................... 41 A. Role of Counsel at Critical Stages of Delinquency Proceedings ..................... 41 B. Youth Tried in Adult Courts ..................................................................................... 50 C. Lack of Juvenile Court Specialization, Training, and Standards .......................... 51 D. Juvenile Court Culture .............................................................................................. 52 IV. Strengths and Promising Practices ............................................................................................. 52 A. Counties with Routine Appointment of Counsel ............................................... 52 B. The Role of Law Schools in Forging Change ........................................................ 53 C. Youth Advocacy Units ................................................................................................ 53 CHAPTER FOUR: Conclusion and Recommendations ........................................................... 55 6 MISSOURI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While Missouri stands out for its innovation in providing small, regionalized juvenile