In response to numerous requests from prosecutors, NDAA and APRI have created Prosecuting Gang Violence, a course designed for front-line prosecutors and policy-level deputies to enhance their ability to combat gang activity.

Scheduled topics include:

• a national overview of the gang problem
• nuts and bolts of gang prosecution
• working with minority communities and gang interdiction
• RICO and gang prosecution
• juveniles and gangs
• drugs and gangs, and
• community prosecution strategies to address gang activity

While the course is designed for criminal prosecutors, juvenile prosecutors may also find it valuable. The Course will be presented June 2-4, 2004. To register for the course (Course No. 01­04 JJGV), please fill out the application form on the Web at http://www.ndaa-apri.org/pdf/nac_form_2003.pdf and fax it to Yvonne Visser at 803-544-5060.

RECENT CASES

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION

In re T.R., 80 P.3d 1276 (Nev. 2003)—The Nevada Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutionally vague a portion of the State’s sex offender registration law applicable to juvenile offenders. The statute required a juvenile adjudicated for certain sexual offenses to be “deemed an adult sex offender for the purposes of registration and community notification” if, after reaching the age of 21, “the court determines at [a] hearing that the child has not been rehabilitated to the satisfaction of the court or that the child is likely to pose a threat to the safety of others.” The Court found that the statute failed to provide sufficient guidance to the court or to offenders as to what would constitute “rehabilitation” or what would indicate that an offender no longer posed a threat. As a result, the Court said, that portion of the law was unconstitutional.
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/scd/119NevAdvOpNo67.pdf

MIRANDA WAIVER

Yarborough v. Alvarado, No 02-1684 (U.S. Supreme Court)—The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 1, 2004 in this case previously reported in the November, 2003 In Re Express. The substantive issue before the Court is whether the test for “custody” under Miranda must consider the age and experience of a juvenile suspect. The parties’ briefs are available on-line at the following link: http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/march04.html#yarborough

Supreme Court to Review Using Execution in Juvenile Cases, NEW YORK TIMES—The New York Times analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the death penalty as applied to juvenile offenders in Roper v. Simmons.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/27/politics/27SCOT.html?ex=1077771600&en=882130af44286ac7&ei=5070. For an editorial in the Washington Post opposing the death penalty for juveniles, follow this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7236-2004Feb2?language=printer. For Law.com’s analysis, follow this link: http://www.law.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/Preview&c=LawArticle&cid=1074819338880

Authorities Accused Of Using Juveniles To Catch Illegal Families, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER—This article discusses some of the immigration consequences of delinquency actions against undocumented aliens. The article suggests that Immigration officials are targeting the families of youth arrested on minor offenses, a charge which the officials deny.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/159647_immigrants06.html
Similar issues relating to the interplay between immigration law and juvenile delinquency were the subject of two recent In Re newsletters, which can be found on-line at http://www.ndaa-apri.org/apri/programs/juvenile/newsletter.html.

Facing Up To Juvenile Offending, THE SCOTSMAN—“Traditionally, the standard police approach to tackling fledgling delinquents [in Scotland] was to drag them into the nearest station and issue an unofficial caution known as a 'superintendent’s warning.' Its sole purpose was to make the wayward youth cry, or at least tremble with fear. Today, the talk is no longer of striking fear into the heart of troubled teenagers, but of mediation and reconciliation. In contrast to the hard-line policies of the past, Scotland’s local authorities and police forces are embracing the concept of restorative justice. By the end of this year, it is expected the scheme, favoured by the First Minister, Jack McConnell, will cover the entire country.”
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=200902004

Teens Abusing Cold Remedies In Epidemic Numbers To Attain PCP-Like `High', KANSAS CITY STAR—“Emergency room physicians and other health care professionals are reporting a sharp increase in teens abusing non-prescription cough and cold medicines, which are back in vogue as recreational drugs because the products are both accessible and easier to take than ever before. Users call it ‘skittles,’ ‘triple Cs’ (for Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold tablets) or ‘robo-tripping’ to describe its hallucinogenic effects, similar to PCP. Medical personnel are calling it ‘an epidemic.’”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/7973827.htm

Bossier Programs Seek To Curb Repeat Juvenile Delinquency, THE SHREVEPORT TIMES—“Six juveniles sit around a wooden table in near dead silence when asked why they shoplifted items from local businesses. …Whatever the excuses, their crimes landed the four boys and two girls in the four-hour 'Stamp Out Shoplifting' class Saturday. The class is part of the Bossier Parish Jumpstart program, a series of hands-on workshops designed to promote positive self esteem and prevent delinquent behavior to keep juveniles out of the justice system. Once completed, the charges against the child are dropped unless they get in trouble again - then the charges can be resurrected.”
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/html/AC4F0A11-F229-4B80-8B0A-23C387577D48.shtml

Trying and Sentencing Juveniles as Adults: An Analysis of State Transfer and Blended Sentencing Laws, NATIONAL CENTER FOR JUVENILE JUSTICE—In this bulletin, the NCJJ, an affiliate of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, “summarizes research on the juvenile transfer and blended sentencing statutes of all 50 States and the District of Columbia.” The bulletin updates a previous NCJJ publication to include statutes through the 2002 State legislative sessions, and expands the prior report to include adult and blended sentencing statutes in addition to transfer statutes.
http://ncjj.servehttp.com/NCJJWebsite/pdf/transferbulletin.pdf

Sex, Drugs, and Delinquency in Urban and Suburban Public Schools, THE MANHATTAN INSTITUTE—“For the last several decades middle-class families have been fleeing from the cities to the suburbs, in part because many parents see the suburbs, and suburban public schools in particular, as refuges from the disorder and social collapse they see as endemic to America's urban school districts. … This report finds that those perceptions are unfounded. … [I]t finds that suburban public high school students have sex, drink, smoke, use illegal drugs, and engage in delinquent behavior as often as urban public high school students. Students also engage in these behaviors more often than most people realize.”
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_04.htm

WEB RESOURCES

U.S. Supreme Court Materials—The United States Supreme Court makes available through its Web site many resources of interest to prosecutors and others. In addition to its dockets, orders and other materials available on-line, merits briefs in all of the cases accepted by the Court for argument are posted on the site (sponsored by the American Bar Association) almost as soon as they are filed. For example, the briefs in the case of Yarbrough v. Alvarado, which was reported above, can be found at this link: http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/march04.html#yarborough.
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention—OJJDP recently launched a newly designed Web site. The new site is designed to be easier to use and offers new topic pages and links to useful information.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp

GRANT OPPORTUNITY

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) have issued a Program Announcement for the fiscal year 2004 Drug-Free Communities Support Program. Approximately 180 grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded to community coalitions that are working to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth. Community coalitions whose members have worked together on substance abuse reduction initiatives for at least 6 months and that meet all eligibility requirements outlined in the program announcement are invited to apply. Applications must be received by March 26, 2004. More information about the program’s requirements and application process are available at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dfcs.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

APRI has recently published three new monographs on juvenile justice topics. Juvenile Delinquency and Community Prosecution: New Strategies for Old Problems; Children With Disabilities in Juvenile Court: IDEA and the Juvenile Prosecutor; and School Crime and School Resource Officers: A Desk Reference for Prosecutors, are all available on-line in .pdf format for easy viewing and printing. A limited number of paper copies are available. To order, send an email to juvenilejustice@ndaa-apri.org.
http://www.ndaa-apri.org/apri/index.html