The juvenile justice system in the United States is supposed to focus on rehabilitation for young offenders. But for generations, it has largely been a purgatory, failing to protect them or give them the help and counseling they need to become law-abiding adults. Children who end up in juvenile courts often do not get due process protections like written complaints presenting the charges against them, adequate notice about legal proceedings or meaningful assistance of counsel.
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The situation has been particularly atrocious in the juvenile system that serves Memphis and the surrounding area in Shelby County, Tenn. A chilling report by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division issued after a three-year investigation found that the juvenile court — which handles more than 11,000 matters a year across a range of charges — failed to provide proper conditions of confinement, systematically violated due process, like failing to advise young offenders of their rights before they were questioned, and violated the right to equal protection of black children, who were much more likely than whites to be locked up in detention and to have their cases transferred to adult criminal court.
These conclusions are the basis for a settlement agreement announced in December between the Justice Department and the court. The agreement is intended to ensure that every child with a court matter is provided counsel ("independent, ethical and zealous advocacy").
It also calls for a monitor selected by the court and the Justice Department to assess the court's performance against concrete measures of progress. The reforms include imposing limits on guards' use of force on juvenile offenders and developing "judicial bench cards" for magistrates that list what they need to do at hearings, like issue written findings about any decisions they make.
The broader goal is to send as many children as possible home or back to the community rather than to detention, which too often pushes young people into a life of crime. The agreement could bring major, much-needed change to Tennessee. It also provides a model for improving juvenile justice systems around the country.
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