April 21, 2010
Supreme Court Approves First-ever Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
From a WV Supreme Court news release
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has approved West Virginia’s first Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis said, “The Court is pleased to announce the approval of these rules, which are the result of several years work.”
The rules will become effective on July 1, 2010. An order approving the rules was entered today, April 20, and copy of the rules is posted on the Supreme Court Web site at http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Rules/Juvenile_Procedure_Rules.pdf
“Through the Court Improvement Board, the Court earlier adopted the Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings, and those rules have been an enormous help in improving the quality and timeliness of results in those cases. The Board’s Youth Services Committee, led by attorney Jane Moran, thought a similar set of rules for delinquency/status offense cases would bring about similar benefits, and that is the main purpose of this comprehensive set of rules,” Davis said.
“The rules are a synthesis of the state's juvenile statutes and case law, including recognized constitutional principles. With added, necessary, procedural steps, they are a comprehensive roadmap,” Davis said. “The rules don’t try to make substantive law.
“The most significant change is the focus on the many children who, unfortunately, are in the juvenile system a long time and need to be better prepared for independence when they ‘age out’ of the system,” she said.
The rules were proposed by the West Virginia Court Improvement Program Oversight Board. They “are intended to provide uniform court procedures to govern juvenile delinquency and status offense cases,” Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Gary Johnson said in a letter to Chief Justice Davis asking the Court to approve the rules.
“The rules are designed to protect the statutory and constitutional rights of juveniles, promote access to rehabilitative opportunities, and preserve public safety.”
Judge Johnson is Chairman of the Court Improvement Program Oversight Board. The Youth Services Committee of that Board has spent much of the last five years researching, drafting, and revising a document that has now become the state’s first Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
“We have never previously had rules to follow,” said Ms. Moran, a Williamson attorney. “The procedure was pieced together from the directives in the juvenile statutes.
“Those of us who worked on the rules believe this practice resulted in a lack of responsiveness to the unique needs and diverse nature of juvenile offenders. There were insufficient procedural protections to prevent unnecessary detention and, where detention was necessary, to limit it to the minimum required for the safety of the juvenile and protection of the public,” Ms. Moran said.
There was no incident that precipitated the Board’s decision to write Juvenile Court Rules, Ms. Moran said.
Historically, the Court Improvement Board’s main focus has been on improving the way the court system handles abuse and neglect cases. The Court Improvement Program’s central purpose is to improve court-related practices affecting children and youth placed out of their homes in foster care, which includes many in the juvenile court system. Additionally, many children who are the victim of abuse and neglect later end up in juvenile court. “It was a natural step for us to try to address the needs of these kids,” Ms. Moran said.
“The Committee did not believe that the constitutional protections afforded adults in the criminal courts were being consistently and conscientiously provided in the juvenile venues, whereas juveniles are assured, in some incidences, more constitutional protections than adults charged with crimes,” Ms. Moran said.
Also, she said, “We didn’t feel there were enough protections for children who were charged with delinquency, in terms of setting up some structure for their future so they didn’t go through a revolving door here. We are trying to expand the rules into something for their future, to help them stay out of trouble, more than the rules have done at this point.”
“Jane should be credited for recognizing the importance of addressing this problem when she formed this committee several years ago,” said Morgantown attorney John Hedges, a member of Ms. Moran’s committee.
“Status offenders ‘age out’ of the system when they turn eighteen. Juvenile delinquent offenders can remain under court jurisdiction until they are twenty-one, in some circumstances. The kids that have been in placement for extended periods typically have very little in terms of supportive family relationships,” Mr. Hedges said.
“Congress has now recognized that more attention is needed on preparing these juveniles for adulthood while they’re still in the state’s care. The federal Fostering Connections to Success Act that passed in 2008 requires states to address education stability in a juvenile’s case plan and assist a juvenile aging out of foster care to develop a transition plan,” Mr. Hedges said. “These issues and other measures designed to help these older youth are covered in the new West Virginia Juvenile Rules and should also benefit the state by opening new avenues for additional Title IV-E federal funding.”
Those funds can be used to pay for certain out-of-home placements, if federal procedural requirements are followed. Those requirements were incorporated into the new West Virginia Juvenile Rules.
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Supreme Court Approves First-ever Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
From a WV Supreme Court news release
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has approved West Virginia’s first Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis said, “The Court is pleased to announce the approval of these rules, which are the result of several years work.”
The rules will become effective on July 1, 2010. An order approving the rules was entered today, April 20, and copy of the rules is posted on the Supreme Court Web site at http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/Rules/Juvenile_Procedure_Rules.pdf
“Through the Court Improvement Board, the Court earlier adopted the Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings, and those rules have been an enormous help in improving the quality and timeliness of results in those cases. The Board’s Youth Services Committee, led by attorney Jane Moran, thought a similar set of rules for delinquency/status offense cases would bring about similar benefits, and that is the main purpose of this comprehensive set of rules,” Davis said.
“The rules are a synthesis of the state's juvenile statutes and case law, including recognized constitutional principles. With added, necessary, procedural steps, they are a comprehensive roadmap,” Davis said. “The rules don’t try to make substantive law.
“The most significant change is the focus on the many children who, unfortunately, are in the juvenile system a long time and need to be better prepared for independence when they ‘age out’ of the system,” she said.
The rules were proposed by the West Virginia Court Improvement Program Oversight Board. They “are intended to provide uniform court procedures to govern juvenile delinquency and status offense cases,” Twenty-Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Gary Johnson said in a letter to Chief Justice Davis asking the Court to approve the rules.
“The rules are designed to protect the statutory and constitutional rights of juveniles, promote access to rehabilitative opportunities, and preserve public safety.”
Judge Johnson is Chairman of the Court Improvement Program Oversight Board. The Youth Services Committee of that Board has spent much of the last five years researching, drafting, and revising a document that has now become the state’s first Rules of Juvenile Procedure.
“We have never previously had rules to follow,” said Ms. Moran, a Williamson attorney. “The procedure was pieced together from the directives in the juvenile statutes.
“Those of us who worked on the rules believe this practice resulted in a lack of responsiveness to the unique needs and diverse nature of juvenile offenders. There were insufficient procedural protections to prevent unnecessary detention and, where detention was necessary, to limit it to the minimum required for the safety of the juvenile and protection of the public,” Ms. Moran said.
There was no incident that precipitated the Board’s decision to write Juvenile Court Rules, Ms. Moran said.
Historically, the Court Improvement Board’s main focus has been on improving the way the court system handles abuse and neglect cases. The Court Improvement Program’s central purpose is to improve court-related practices affecting children and youth placed out of their homes in foster care, which includes many in the juvenile court system. Additionally, many children who are the victim of abuse and neglect later end up in juvenile court. “It was a natural step for us to try to address the needs of these kids,” Ms. Moran said.
“The Committee did not believe that the constitutional protections afforded adults in the criminal courts were being consistently and conscientiously provided in the juvenile venues, whereas juveniles are assured, in some incidences, more constitutional protections than adults charged with crimes,” Ms. Moran said.
Also, she said, “We didn’t feel there were enough protections for children who were charged with delinquency, in terms of setting up some structure for their future so they didn’t go through a revolving door here. We are trying to expand the rules into something for their future, to help them stay out of trouble, more than the rules have done at this point.”
“Jane should be credited for recognizing the importance of addressing this problem when she formed this committee several years ago,” said Morgantown attorney John Hedges, a member of Ms. Moran’s committee.
“Status offenders ‘age out’ of the system when they turn eighteen. Juvenile delinquent offenders can remain under court jurisdiction until they are twenty-one, in some circumstances. The kids that have been in placement for extended periods typically have very little in terms of supportive family relationships,” Mr. Hedges said.
“Congress has now recognized that more attention is needed on preparing these juveniles for adulthood while they’re still in the state’s care. The federal Fostering Connections to Success Act that passed in 2008 requires states to address education stability in a juvenile’s case plan and assist a juvenile aging out of foster care to develop a transition plan,” Mr. Hedges said. “These issues and other measures designed to help these older youth are covered in the new West Virginia Juvenile Rules and should also benefit the state by opening new avenues for additional Title IV-E federal funding.”
Those funds can be used to pay for certain out-of-home placements, if federal procedural requirements are followed. Those requirements were incorporated into the new West Virginia Juvenile Rules.
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