By Eric Zogry

Welcome to the first installment of the Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section blog!  If you don’t already know, our section is in its 19th year.  We’re a very diverse group, in subject matter (we include experts in child welfare, education, juvenile justice, and mental health), in practitioners (including trial and appellate attorneys, paralegals, judges, and individual and policy advocates), in geography (with participation from the many corners in our state) and lastly, diversity in individuals, as we encourage a community with different backgrounds, cultures and experiences.

This is an especially exciting time to be involved with juvenile justice. The Chief Justice’s Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice has recommended that all 16- and 17-year-olds be processed in the juvenile justice system, while providing for an expedited process for transfer to adult court for only the most serious offenders. Additionally, we are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision, In re Gault. Gault transformed juvenile delinquency court from an informal, unfair process into a consistent and fair setting for youth to face criminal allegations.

We’re hopeful that this blog will bring our broad community even closer together.  Please let us know if you have an idea, innovation, or opinion you want to share – we’d love to hear from you!