Juvenile Indigent Defense in Crisis www.laccr.org What Is LCCR? - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Juvenile Indigent Defense in Crisis

www.laccr.org

What Is LCCR?

• Independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit law office
• Founded in 2006; contracted with the

Louisiana Public Defender Board since 2012 to defend children in Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

• Raise 50% of defense budget privately
• In 2014, merged with the Juvenile Justice

Project of Louisiana, which became our policy advocacy and impact litigation arm.

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

“UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, THE CONDITION TION OF BEING G A BOY DOES NOT OT JUSTIFY A KANGAROO COURT.”

• - IN

IN RE RE GAUL ULT, , 387 U.S .S. 1 ( . 1 (1967) 7)

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

How Bad Is the Crisis?

Districts Facing Insolvency in FY 2016 –

Based on FY 2015 Budget and Prior to Any Cuts

25, 60% 17, 40% Districts Projecting Insolvency in FY 2016 Districts Projecting Solvency Through FY 2016

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Districts Currently Restricting Services

• 30th Judicial District

– Denying public defender counsel to all new juvenile cases

• 28th Judicial District
• Denying counsel in status offender (“FINS”) cases
• Denying counsel in juvenile misdemeanor cases
• Denying counsel in all other juvenile delinquency

cases unless the child is incarcerated or the case is considered “serious.”

– What’s going to happen elsewhere?

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Districts Projecting Inadequate Funds for Current Level of Service Maintenance in 2015

• 1st JDC (Caddo Parish)
• 19th JDC (East Baton Rouge Parish)
• 26th JDC (Bossier/Webster)

– 1,870 juvenile cases

• 41st JDC Juvenile Defender (LCCR,

Orleans Parish)

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

“UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, THE CONDITION TION OF BEING G A BOY DOES NOT OT JUSTIFY A KANGAROO COURT.”

• - IN

IN RE RE GAUL ULT, , 387 U.S .S. 1 ( . 1 (1967) 7)

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Why Should We Care?

Why Should We Care?

• Fairness
• Innocence protection
• Safety and health of youth
• Timely case processing
• Youth buy-in
• Therapeutic value of advocacy
• Connection to the right services and supports
• Constitutional and statutory right
• And…

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

We Can Make This Simple.

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

$

What Do You Want to Pay For?

$424 $295 $180 $153 $0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 Secure Custody (per day) Detention (per day) Average Cost PER CASE of Juvenile Defense Today Nonsecure Custody (per day)

Cost Per Day of Incarceration Versus Cost of Juvenile Defense

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

What If…

• Continued custody hearings don’t happen?
• Trials and sentencings are indefinitely

delayed?

• Revocation hearings are put on hold?
• There are no parole hearings?

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Costs of Eliminating Parole

• In 2013, OJJ paroled 150 youth from secure custody.

These youth spent an average of 225 days on parole, at a cost of $10/day

• Secure custody costs $424, according to the legislative

auditor

• Supervising these youth on parole instead of in secure

facilities saves the state millions each year:

• 150 youth x 225 days = 33,750 total bed days saved through

parole supervision

• 33,750 bed days x $424 per day = $14.3 million that would

have been spent on secure care

• Subtracting $330,750 for the cost of supervision, parole

saved the state $13.97 million in 2013

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Detention Costs and Overflow:

The Example of the Youth Study Center in New Orleans

• If the allocation to Orleans Parish is cut by $86,700, it

will end up costing the city nearly half a million dollars, and will result in potentially unconstitutional conditions in the detention center due to overcrowding

• We only have 40 beds
• ~ 27 admissions per month – if ¼ of those kids sit

because they don’t have a lawyer, population will rise by more than 6 youth per month

• If restrictions start in July, we could be full by

September

• The carrying cost of 18 youth awaiting trial to the City
• f New Orleans, from October through December, is

92 x 18 x 295 = $488,520

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

“UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, THE CONDITION TION OF BEING G A BOY DOES NOT OT JUSTIFY A KANGAROO COURT.”

• - IN

IN RE RE GAUL ULT, , 387 U.S .S. 1 ( . 1 (1967) 7)

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Can We Afford It?

What Do You Want to Pay For?

$424 $295 $180 $153 $0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $350 $400 $450 Secure Custody (per day) Detention (per day) Average Cost PER CASE of Juvenile Defense Today Nonsecure Custody (per day)

Cost Per Day of Incarceration Versus Cost of Juvenile Defense

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

Actually, We Can Afford Much More than $180/Case for Juvenile Justice Advocacy…

$2,189 $1,038 $180 $0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 CASA Advocacy Child in Need of Care Advocacy -- MHAS Juvenile Public Defense

Cost Per Case – CY 2013

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

What Can You Buy for $180?

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

KitchenAid Stand Mixer $179.99 T-Fal Optigrill $179.99 Polaroid Instant Camera $179.99

What Can’t You Buy for $180?

• Reimbursement for a drive from Shreveport to Bridge City,

LA to visit a client – 668 miles round trip x $.51 = $341

• Psychologist evaluation for mentally ill child

– $200/hour x 3 hours = $600

• One night in juvenile detention

– $295/night in Jefferson Parish

• … and the services of any private lawyer, anywhere

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

An Investment In Counsel Can Save Money…

• LCCR’s Second Chances Project

– Represented 81 youth from St. Tammany and Jefferson in CY 2014; 28 were released – 270 months in secure custody were saved – 293 days per youth – $3,482,100 in savings – on an investment of about $120,000 in counsel – ROI: About 29,000% – 1-year recidivism rate: 3.5%

Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights

LOUISIANA CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S RIGHTS

WWW.LACCR.ORG WWW.JUVENILEDEFENDERS.ORG

Joshua Perry Executive Director (504) 207-4597 jperry@laccr.org