Welcome to LA Youth - Juvenile justice system needs work, two experts say

When I set out to interview two attorneys who work in the juvenile justice system, I expected them to be hardened. Teens are troublemakers, we have no conscience, we do whatever we want to do—that’s the idea I thought they would have.

Instead, I found them to be understanding of teens. They know how we think, and they know that even though some teens commit crimes, not all teens are bad.

Both Rebecca Noblin, deputy district attorney, and Robert Johnson, deputy public defender, raised serious questions about the juvenile system. The system works for only a few, they said, although they had different reasons for saying so. Teens are supposed to be “rehabilitated” but instead they usually just get locked up.

Noblin described one of her cases, a boy who was severely abused and neglected by his mother. After being placed in a foster family, he hit his foster father and wouldn’t listen to him. The father called the cops and had him put in Juvenile Hall. He’s the kind of kid, she said, who really needs help and should not be in jail for being angry and defiant.

“For a small number of kids, maybe 15 percent, the juvenile justice system is perfect because it can shake them up, give them a taste of what it’s like to go into criminal activity. But for the vast majority of kids, 75 percent, they would not be here but for the fact that they come from really screwed up backgrounds, totally dysfunctional parents with no interest in their kids. If you took these kids and put them into a normal home, the system would work,” said Noblin. The remaining 10 percent are “bad seeds,” she said—kids who would probably misbehave no matter where they were, and who need to be controlled.

“The system is better than nothing—but is it working perfectly? No. I don’t blame the court system for that. We work closely with the dependency court. The court tries to be mommy and daddy—but it’s not the same,” said Noblin.

Public defender Robert Johnson, who said he has more than 250 cases a month, agreed with Noblin that the majority of the kids he deals with come from broken homes. He described seeing patterns when the same kid would keep breaking the law, and he might also see other members of the family entering the system. “A 15-year-old kid comes to juvenile court and then two years later, his 11-year-old brother. It’s not necessarily bad families. You might see two or three kids in the family doing good, and one doing bad.”

“I’ve think we’ve lost focus on what the juvenile system is supposed to do. They should be spending more money to educate or provide activities for kids. There should be more services,” Johnson said. For example, he said if a kid wants to remove a tattoo, he might be on a waiting list for a year or more. And in the meantime, he’s still viewed as active in the gang.

Johnson further criticized two aspects of juvenile justice—trying teens as adults and making it harder for them to seal their records.

He said he feels strongly that teens should not be treated as adults. Johnson said teens are more likely to make stupid choices than adults are.

Johnson also felt strongly that prosecutors should not be the ones to make the decision on whether teens should be tried in adult court. Prop. 21 gives prosecutors that power, and although the provision is now being challenged in court, Johnson and many other legal experts believe it will be upheld. “If we will treat kids as adults, it shouldn’t be up to the prosecutors,” Johnson commented.

He said that charges against teens can count as a strike once they become adults, which isn’t fair because teens are tried without a jury. Since the crimes teens commit may be used against them later on, teens should have a jury just as adults do, he argued.

Rebecca Noblin said that the Los Angeles district attorney’s office is not currently using its power to send minors to adult court. She added that some youth should be tried as adults, if they seem to be hard-core. For example she said a kid who had been a member of the Crips since age 12, at age 13 committed an armed robbery and was sent to camp, at 14 was charged with rape and at 15 arrested for an assault with a gun and five car jackings, should be sent to adult court. Robert Johnson however, expressed a more lenient view. In his opinion that kid should stay in juvenile court. “Kids act more impulsively then adults. Kids aren’t responsible enough.”

Johnson also expressed anger that it is hard for a teen convicted of a crime to “seal” his records when he turns 18. That means one mistake can affect youth the rest of their lives, said Johnson.

“Kids come back and really change their lives. This kid came from the Phillippines when he was 13. He committed a robbery. Now he’s a straight-A student in college, working full-time, but he can’t become a citizen or start a career because of the charge on his record.”

The following shows some of the possibilities if you get in trouble with the law in California.

Police, sheriff’s, school police, a security guard or other law enforcement agents are usually the ones who get you into the juvenile justice system. You can be stopped and questioned if law enforcement has a “reasonable suspicion” that you did something wrong. They can take you to the police station for a while too. It’s called temporary detention. So don’t give them an attitude. It will only make them come down hard on you.

Getting arrested You could be arrested if they have “probable cause.” Evidence that shows you did something wrong is “probable cause.” Arrest records become part of your official file.	Counsel and release If your crime was minor, your arrest may just mean you’ll be counseled and released to the custody of your parents, who are supposed to keep an eye on you.
Charges are filed If your crime was serious, law enforcement may “seek a petition,” which means they file charges. Your case will be assigned to a probation officer. Some youth are stopped or arrested and then released by police five times or more before their case is sent to the Probation Department. Charges become part of your official file. You are entitled to know what you’re being charged with.
Probation recommendations Your probation officer may recommend that you be locked up or not, depending on whether you are assessed as a danger to yourself or the community. If you are “detained,” you will be in Juvenile Hall, which will be your first taste of jail life. You have to ask permission for everything, even to go to the bathroom.	Informal probation Even though charges have been filed, the Probation Department may release you to the custody of your parents, if you are not a danger to yourself or the community. You may be required to see a probation officer, go to school, get tutoring or go to counseling. You may be required to go through a drug rehab program. Your parents might have to take parenting classes to teach them how to control you, or your family may be referred to other services. Your case will not be sent to the district attorney. If your parents are neglecting or abusing you, you may be put in a group home or with a foster family.
Not locked up If you are not a danger to yourself or the community, you may be released while your case is sent to the district attorney’s office.	Locked up If you are judged dangerous, you will be kept locked up in Juvenile Hall while awaiting trial or “adjudication.” There’s no bail for juveniles.
The D.A. The district attorney’s office (D.A.) files charges against people who break the law. There are special ones who deal with minors (people who are under 18).	Case dismissed If the district attorney feels there is not enough proof that you committed the crime, which is called “insufficient evidence,” the case may be dismissed.
Tried as a juvenile The district attorney may decide to take your case to Juvenile Court. You can hire your own lawyer, or the court will assign a lawyer from the public defender’s office.	Tried as an adult If your crime was extremely serious, you can be tried as an adult. Even 14-year-olds can be tried as adults. Examples of crimes that would lead a youth to be tried as an adult are murder, arson, robbery with a deadly weapon, rape, carjacking and other serious offenses.
Locked up If you are judged dangerous, you will be kept locked up in Juvenile Hall while awaiting trial or “adjudication.” There’s no bail for juveniles.	Not locked up If you are not dangerous, you may be released while you are waiting for your trial to come up.	Probation You may just be given probation without a trial. Your probation officer is supposed to supervise you.
Juvenile court In juvenile court, a judge will hear your case. At your “arraignment,” you have to admit the charge or deny it. If you admit the charges, the judge will follow the recommendation of your probation officer. If you deny the charges, the district attorney or prosecutor has to prove that you did it. There’s no jury in Juvenile Court.
Guilty If you are found guilty by the judge, you will be sentenced. Your “disposition,” or sentence, may include any of the following: You may be sent home on probation, placed in a group facility (not your home), sent to drug rehabilitation or sent to juvenile camp for three months to a year. More serious offenders are placed in the California Youth Authority, which accepts youth up to 25 years old. The decision goes on your record. Even teens can get life sentences and the death penalty.	Not guilty If you are found not guilty, you will be released. The arrest and charges still go on your record, though.
Appeals To appeal a decision, your lawyer must convince the judge that the decision was wrong. “Most appeals don’t succeed,” cautioned district attorney Rebecca Noblin.
Clearing your record Once you turn 18, you may be able to get your record cleared, though not always. Ask your lawyer for help to see if you can have your record “expunged.”