At a time when legislators are trying to out-tough each other on juvenile
justice reform, Edward Humes provides intelligent and sensible recommendations
that preserve the juvenile justice system, while refusing to resort
to the common proposals to build more prisons and lock up juveniles
for longer periods. Thankfully, Humes's purpose for writing No Matter
How Loud I Shout seems to be to demonstrate that with adequate funding
and support systems, the juvenile courts can successfully function as
an integral component for reducing juvenile crime.
As a creative writing instructor at a juvenile detention facility,
Humes is able to share with his readers the passion and pathos evoked
by the poetry and prose of juveniles who are living within the juvenile
justice system. Interjected throughout his detailed account of the inefficient
bureaucracy and chaos that plagues juvenile court, Humes provides examples
of his students' writings, much of which describe the desperate and
lonely existence that these young people lead. Additionally, Humes gives
a very accurate and thorough account of daily life inside Los Angeles'
Juvenile Court, which includes physical descriptions of the facilities
and the services provided in the courts, as well as detailed perspectives
from the judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers,
government officials, parents, and young people.
In the face of skyrocketing numbers of juveniles entering the court
system, Humes cites a multitude of problems plaguing the juvenile courts
that prevent judges from properly administering justice. These problems
include inadequate facilities, too few judges and personnel, too few
placement options, lack of mental health services, and too few probation
officers--all attributable to deep and continuing budget cuts that force
the court to focus its limited time and resources on the 16 percent
of juveniles who are the chronic serious offenders. Humes's real complaint,
however, is against In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), which affords juveniles
the right to have notice of the charges being brought against them,
the right to counsel, and the privilege against self-incrimination,
among other rights.
Humes would have us believe that it is Gault that has brought the
juvenile justice system to a halt by contributing to the increase in
juvenile crime rates because the "focus is more on procedures and legal
technicalities than on the welfare of children and the protection of
society." It is the author's failure that he refuses to recognize his
own litany of the system's shortcomings--the lack of judges, attorneys,
and probation officers, too few placement options, and too few preventive
programs--as the real reason for the stalemate within the juvenile court
system, and not the mandates of Gault. In addition, Humes seems unable
to perceive that these constitutional protections for juveniles do not
detract from the original intent for creating a separate juvenile court,
but serve to ensure that abuses do not occur within a court system that
could, for example, keep a juvenile in placement for six years for making
one lewd phone call.
It is interesting to note that Humes is critical of a status offender
project initiated by Los Angeles Juvenile Court Judge Dorn, which Humes
compares to the stoic Star Chamber because it appears to run afoul of
constitutional protections that were initiated by cases such as Gault.
Under this program, Judge Dorn privately chastises and threatens truant
and incorrigible juveniles in order to prevent future crimes, but without
any of the checks and balances provided for in juvenile court. Humes
discusses how prosecutors and defense attorneys alike are critical of
this program because of the illegal threats issued by the judge. He's
also critical of the extra time the judge spends in chambers and away
from the overburdened juvenile court.
On the positive side, frustrated by the juvenile court's lack of sufficient
resources and time necessary to individually examine each juvenile's
needs, Humes offers intelligent and compelling solutions to facilitate
performing its functions. Of highest priority is additional financial
investment in juvenile courts, which would provide better support systems,
more juvenile delinquency prevention programs, and more resources for
juveniles on the front end who enter the system after committing minor
offenses. Unfortunately, during fiscal crises, prevention programs,
community service programs, and stronger probation resources are the
most susceptible to budget cuts because they do not target that 16 percent
that is a serious threat to the safety of the community. Programs that
address the most serious chronic offenders usually translates into building
more prisons, which results in more juveniles who are locked up with
adults and for longer periods of time.
In regards to reducing violent crimes, it's disappointing that Humes
succumbs to the popular rhetoric that suggests that age should not be
the determinant factor in whether a juvenile is tried as an adult, but,
rather, the severity of the crime. By professing that an adult crime
should require a criminal trial, regardless of the minor's age, Humes
abandons the principles that supported the creation of a separate juvenile
court.
Furthermore, Humes seems to suggest that escalating serious juvenile
crime rates are primarily attributable to the failure of the juvenile
court system to instill a moral awareness in the minds of juvenile delinquents.
Humes's argument fails to address the prevalence of drugs, an obscene
access to guns, poverty, unstable and abusive homes, lack of youth programs,
and the neighborhood violence that surrounds most juvenile delinquents
and serious juvenile offenders.
Essentially, No Matter How Loud I Shout speaks to the ineffectiveness
of only one part of the system dedicated to reducing juvenile crime
rates. Reforming the juvenile justice system by infusing the courts
with money and with support systems and resources that appropriately
address young people's needs is a necessary first step towards decreasing
crime rates. The ultimate task, however, is to teach young people the
benefits of not entering the system.
Gabrielle Kreisler is an attorney and staff associate at Citizens'
Committee for Children of New York, Inc.
No Matter How Loud I Shout: A Year in Juvenile Court by Edward
Humes; originally published in hardcover by Simon & Schuster in 1996
is due out in paperback from S&S subsidiary Touchstone in May 1997.
Return
to the Juvenile Justice Articles page
ABA
Juvenile Justice Committee
740 15th Street, NW • Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202.662.1520 • Fax: 202.662.1501