Five Recipients of the 2004 Juvenile Prosecution Certificate

Earlier this year, NJJPC awarded the first five Juvenile Prosecution Certificates to four outstanding prosecutors and one highly dedicated community prosecution team member. As is clear from their biographies, the five award recipients are a diverse group. APRI is pleased to honor the following recipients of the 2004 Juvenile Prosecution Certificate:

1. Nancy Prigmore, Garfield County, Oklahoma: Nancy recently returned to prosecution in Enid, Oklahoma, after an extended absence. Nancy handles juvenile delinquency and juvenile drug court cases, as well as a misdemeanor docket and the adult mental health docket. Between her first tour of duty as an Assistant District Attorney at the beginning of her career and her current position, Nancy was in private practice, served as General Counsel to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, and taught at the college level. She also has a Master of Social Work degree.

“I’ve been pleased upon my return to prosecution to find changes in the philosophy and attitude toward juvenile law and a recognition of the seriousness and importance of the work done in juvenile court. The seriousness of challenges facing communities arising out of juvenile crime and the willingness to explore alternative methods of addressing those challenges makes this an exciting area of the practice. The APRI training opportunities have been invaluable to me in reducing my learning curve as I return.”

2. Christopher Dwayne Wilson, 13th Judicial Circuit, Missouri: Chris serves as Legal Counsel for the Juvenile Officer in Columbia, Missouri. As legal counselor, Chris is responsible for cases involving juvenile offenders, as well as dependency cases involving abused and/or neglected children. Chris began working with children and troubled youth while earning his undergraduate degree in psychology. After law school, he was a defense counsel for juvenile and adult offenders before becoming Legal Counsel for the Juvenile Officer, a position that functions in many ways like a prosecutor in the Missouri juvenile court system.

“I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend and participate in the juvenile justice training seminars provided by APRI. It was quite simply the best training in this field that I have ever had. I sincerely believe that it will improve the services that my colleagues and I provide to the youth we work with, as well as to the communities we serve.”

3. Christina L. McMahan, Deschutes County, Oregon: Christina is the Juvenile Division Team Leader, supervising the Juvenile Division of the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office, in Bend, Oregon, which is responsible for both delinquency and dependency cases. Christina is actively involved in many interagency task forces and committees that address juvenile justice and child welfare issues, including the Deschutes County Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, the Juvenile Sex Offender Task Force, the Juvenile Family Violence Work Group, and the Deschutes County Child Abuse Multi-Disciplinary Team. She is also a member of the board of directors for the KIDS Center, a child abuse assessment center located in Bend, Oregon. Christina is involved in legislative efforts pertaining to juvenile matters through the Oregon District Attorney’s Association and the Oregon Law Commission Juvenile Code Revision Workgroup.

“As prosecutors in the juvenile justice arena, it is important that we not only acquire the skills necessary to successfully prosecute cases, but to also embrace our roles as leaders and problem-solvers in our communities. The training I have received while pursuing the APRI Juvenile Prosecution Certificate has helped enhance my expertise in juvenile justice. With the knowledge and skills I have gained, I can have a greater impact in efforts to hold youth accountable, make my community safer, and to help young people transform into contributing citizens.”

4. Peter Hochuli, Pima County, Arizona: Peter is the supervisor of the Juvenile Division of the Pima County Attorney’s Office in Tucson, Arizona. With an undergraduate emphasis on Sociology and Juvenile Corrections, Peter emphasized Juvenile (delinquency and dependency) and Family Law in his 15-year private practice in Tucson. In January 1996, he joined the Juvenile Division of the Pima County Attorney’s office, and became its supervisor in 2003. He is involved in presenting information about the juvenile justice system to school classes, organizations, and groups, and is a frequent CLE presenter on juvenile law both in Arizona as well as nationally, including serving as a faculty member for NJJPC’s JumpStart course. He was a founding member of the Juvenile Law Section of the Arizona State Bar and was Section Chair from June 1999 to June 2000. He also helped start the S.M.A.R.T., School Multi Agency Response Team, which brings schools, law enforcement, probation, and prosecution together on a monthly basis to discuss the youth within the individual schools and address any juvenile issues that may be occurring.

“From the very first APRI program I attended I knew that we finally had quality training in areas that were specifically designed for the juvenile law prosecutor. There has not been an APRI program that I have attended that I have not come back with new ideas that have improved the quality and effectiveness of the office. Beyond the classroom part of the training, the opportunity to speak to experienced juvenile prosecutors allowed me to bounce ideas and issues off them to see how they handled similar problems. In turn, I was able to impart my experiences to assist them as well. The highlight, of course, has been to actually be on the faculty of an APRI program and present what I have learned and experienced to new juvenile prosecutors. No one who works in the juvenile prosecution arena should ever miss the chance to attend an APRI program for the juvenile prosecutor.”

5. Lydia Kinney Dosela, Whiteriver, Arizona: Lydia is a Community Prosecution (CP) Program Manager for the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona. Before taking that position, Lydia handled juvenile dependency cases for the tribe. As CP Program Manager, Lydia is responsible for coordinating the adult and juvenile offender accountability programs and the juvenile diversion programs. The Navajo County Superior Court appointed Lydia to the county’s Community Advisory Board, and she has represented the CAB at statewide meetings. Although not an attorney, Lydia serves as a prosecutor in the White Mountain Apache Tribal Courts in both adult and juvenile cases. She also serves as an interpreter for the United States District Courts in Arizona.

“I commend APRI for providing outstanding training in the core areas of juvenile justice. With the increasingly serious criminal offenses committed by children, it is imperative to address the multiple factors that contribute to the child’s criminal behavior and actions. APRI’s training enhanced my abilities to better serve the children and their families in recommending the appropriate services and restoring to the community. APRI’s trainers were simply the ‘Best’ in their respective fields and I highly recommend the training to those who are in the field of juvenile justice.”

APRI congratulates these five recipients of the Juvenile Prosecution Certificate and appreciates their dedication to juvenile prosecution. The next series of courses by the National Juvenile Justice Prosecution Center is underway. Check APRI’s Web site, www.ndaa-apri.org, for dates and locations of training courses in 2005.

PUBLICATIONS

To request copies of these and other publications, please visit our Web site, www.ndaa-apri.org, or send an e-mail to juvenilejustice@ndaa-apri.org.

New Strategies for Old Problems — This monograph provides a brief explanation of community prosecution, an overview of the potential interface between community prosecution and juvenile justice, a discussion of the legal and systemic issues that APRI uncovered during its site visits, a review of some common issues identified between community prosecution and juvenile justice, and a brief comparison of community prosecution to another emerging juvenile justice philosophy, balanced and restorative justice.

Bringing Balance to Juvenile Justice — Balanced consideration of community protection, offender accountability and competency development brings clarity and reason to juvenile justice issues. This comprehensive philosophy speaks to every aspect of delinquency, punishment, treatment and prevention. These three principles, fully implemented, create a juvenile justice system that truly operates in the best interest of the child and the community.

IDEA and the Juvenile Prosecutor — Remembering that the problem Congress intended to address when it enacted the IDEA and its predecessor statutes was the wholesale expulsion of disabled children from the education system by labeling them as behavior problems or delinquents, a certain level of sensitivity by juvenile prosecutors to the goals of the IDEA is appropriate—may be required. That statute, however, particularly after the 1997 IDEA Amendments, does not exempt a child with disabilities from state laws governing juvenile delinquency or from the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts. From the perspective of a juvenile prosecutor, there should be no conflict between a statutory and regulatory scheme that seeks to maximize educational opportunities for disabled youths and a juvenile justice system that seeks to balance the need for community safety, offender accountability, and competency development.

School Crime and School Resource Officers — The legal and law enforcement issues arising out of the school environment are among the most important for juvenile prosecutors to master. While recent statistics indicate that most serious violent crime against juveniles occurs away from school campuses, most other crimes occur as frequently or more frequently at schools, where children and adolescents still spend a substantial portion of their day.