Skip to main content skip navigation
  • Account
    • Login
    • Manage
  • Subscribe
    • JUSTINFO
    • Register
  • Shopping Cart
  • Contact Us
    • Email
    • Feedback
    • Chat
    • Phone or Mail
  • Site Help
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Office of Justice Programs header with links to bureaus/offices: BJA, BJS, NIJ, OJJDP, OVC, SMART Office of Justice Programs BJA BJS NIJ OJJDP OVC SMART Office of Justice Programs
Advanced Search  Search Help
    Browse By Topics  down arrow
  • A–Z Topics
  • Corrections
  • Courts
  • Crime
  • Crime Prevention
  • Drugs
  • Justice System
  • Juvenile Justice
  • Law Enforcement
  • Victims
CrimeSolutions
Add your conference to our Justice Events calendar
  • ABOUT NCJRS
  • OJP PUBLICATIONS
  • LIBRARY
  • SEARCH Q & A
  • GRANTS & FUNDING
  • JUSTICE EVENTS
Home / Publications / NCJRS Abstract

PUBLICATIONS

Register for Latest Research

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

1 record(s) found

 

NCJ Number: 171477 Find in a Library
Title: Few Options or Safeguards in a City's Juvenile Courts
Author(s): F Butterfield
Date Published: 1997
Annotation: An examination of the New Orleans juvenile court shows a lack of constitutional protections for juveniles being processed, such as the right to adequate legal representation and due process.
Abstract: In New Orleans, public defenders are expected to play a subservient role, and prosecutors have by far the highest conviction rate of any big-city juvenile court in the Nation. Some juveniles remain in detention centers for up to 8 months without coming to trial, much longer than the 10- to 30-day limits imposed by most State laws. Particular judges in New Orleans juvenile courts follow unusual practices that are generally considered unconstitutional. Judge Lagarde, for example, has invited prosecutors and defense lawyers to join him in prayer in the courtroom to seek divine guidance before rendering a verdict. He also customarily tells public defenders who serve in his court what sentence he will give a defendant if convicted. Public defenders are assigned to particular judges, which creates a situation in which public defenders tend to comply with a judge's wishes rather than with the wishes of their clients. Public defenders in New Orleans are underpaid (approximately $18,000 a year), and their offices are underfunded (no money for offices, telephones, computers, files, or secretaries). There are approximately six public defenders, one for each courtroom, to handle the 2,200 delinquency cases processed each year. In most instances, there is no time to prepare cases, so the client is urged to plead guilty, but in the case of one juvenile judge (Judge Lagarde), those who plead guilty are given the same sentence as if they went to trial and were found guilty. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (In re Gault) that juveniles have a right to counsel the same as adults, a senior State judicial official in Louisiana stated that in New Orleans, "We are absolutely in the pre-Gault era."
Main Term(s): Juvenile court procedures
Index Term(s): Defense services; Juvenile judges; Louisiana; Public defenders; Right to counsel; Rights of minors
Sponsoring Agency: New York Times
New York, NY 10036
Sale Source: New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
United States of America
Page Count: 9
Type: Issue Overview
Language: English
Country: United States of America
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=171477

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.




Find in a Library

You have clicked Find in a Library. A title search of WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click "Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

Continue to WorldCat

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.

 
Office of Justice Programs Facebook Page  Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Assistance Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics Twitter Page
  • National Institute of Justice Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office for Victims of Crime Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Facebook Page Twitter Page
Contact Us | Feedback | Site Map
Freedom of Information Act | Privacy Statement | Legal Policies and Disclaimers
USA.gov | CrimeSolutions
Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs