Modern Courts' Forum on Juvenile Justice in NYS: Legal Practice Policy Proposals and the Critical Need for Reform: May 2010

The panelists discuss the present practice and newest policy proposals and initiatives in juvenile justice in New York State. The program will focus on new issues in the representation of children in juvenile offender proceedings, as well as new laws, statewide and local initiatives, and forward thinking policies seeking to reform the juvenile justice system. Issues to be reviewed include the legal consequences of reform including the Chief Judge’s proposal to place juvenile probation under the jurisdiction of the judiciary, sentencing alternatives and programs to address the failure of juvenile facilities, changes to the law to alter New York’s treatment of certain offense as adult crimes, and the practical ways lawyers and the courts can address juvenile justice as a statewide issue in need of reform. The panelists l address the issues from the perspective of legislators, the judiciary, attorneys, educators, and advocates.

Panelist include: Hon. Velmanette Montgomery, New York State Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Children and Families, Kathleen R. DeCataldo, Esq., Executive Director of the Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children, Gretchen Walsh, Esq., Counsel to the Judiciary Task Force on Probation and Clerk to Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman, Administrative Judge for the 9th Judicial District, Karen Riley, Esq., Executive Director, Children’s Rights Society of Orange County; Mark Seidler, MA, Restorative Justice/Suffolk County; Luisa Taveras, Esq., Program Officer, US Programs, Criminal Justice Fund, Open Society Institute, DeAvery Irons, Esq., Associate Director of the Juvenile Justice Project of the Correctional Association of New York; Hugh G. Burke, Esq., Assistant County Attorney, Saratoga. Moderator, Dennis R. Hawkins, Executive Director, The Fund for Modern Courts, former Chief of Rackets Division, Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

The Fund for Modern Courts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, statewide court reform organization founded in 1955. Led by concerned citizens, prominent lawyers, and business leaders, Modern Courts strives to improve the administration and quality of justice in our courts. It is the only organization in New York State devoted exclusively to improving the judicial system.