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| La. suspends contract for juveniles' lawyers |
| By Baton Rouge Advocate |
| Published: 03/21/2005 |
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The administration of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has suspended the only contract that pays for legal representation of youthful offenders after they have been imprisoned. The lawyer whose group is on the verge of losing the contract said the reason is politics. But an aide reviewing the contract for Blanco said he wants to make sure the money will be spent only on legal representation and not other things. Blanco has made reforming juvenile justice a cornerstone of her administration. In a June 9 speech, the governor said, "Saving our children from prison should be the top priority of our juvenile justice system." In 2001, Justice Project of Louisiana received the $365,000 annual contract to provide lawyers for juveniles who have their sentences reviewed in court. Unlike adults, minors found guilty of crimes have their sentences, called adjudications, reviewed periodically by judges. Between August 2001 and January 2005, lawyers working for the not-for-profit corporation have represented 545 youthful offenders at such hearings. They filed 776 motions on behalf of the minors and got an average of 15 months knocked off of every juvenile's sentence. The Juvenile Justice Project sued the state in the 1990s over conditions in the state's prisons for youthful offenders. As part of the settlement of one of those lawsuits, the state agreed to pay for lawyers to represent juveniles in post-disposition hearings. Juvenile Justice Project Director David J. Utter of New Orleans said the Blanco administration is asking for evidence of "performance standards" to measure the effectiveness of the group's work. |
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