Indigent Juvenile Delinquency Defense Services: How Our Political Economy Shapes the Experiences of Troubled Youth

Abstract

In this paper the access to and quality of juvenile indigent defense services in Washington State, Texas, Maryland, and Kalamazoo County are investigated. Information was gathered by interviewing judges, juvenile public defenders, court appointed counsel, prosecuting attorneys, court personnel and administrators, probation personnel and administrators, case managers, mental health experts, school resource officers, detention center personnel and administrators, service providers, key state stakeholders, policy advocates, children and parents. The data collected is presented in three main sections: Barriers that affect Access to Counsel; Barriers to Effective Practice; and Barriers to Just Outcomes. In is analyzed according to a political economy perspective that explains how the class structure in America is responsible for the deficiencies of the defense system.