Career Spotlight: Working in the Juvenile Court System

By Jason T. Vail

Editor’s note: The last issue of De Novo featured a “Career Spotlight” article focusing on in-house counsels written by Julia Bahner. Based on the positive response we received to the article, we will be continuing with a semi-regular “Career Spotlight” feature piece where we will examine young lawyers’ legal careers in practices slightly out of the mainstream. This month we will be looking at a prosecutor and public defender in the juvenile court system. We continue to welcome your feedback and suggestions for future installments of “Career Spotlight” at denovo@wsba.org.

Even as a grade-school student, Shannon Connor knew she wanted to be an attorney. But as a person of diverse and varied interests, she pursued a different path while an undergrad student at Western Washington University by obtaining a degree in environmental science. In the years following graduation, she contemplated continuing her education to merge her interest in the law with her passion for environmental issues as an attorney in an environmental justice practice. Attending Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco, she specialized in environmental justice but once again found herself on a divergent track: after interning with a prosecutor’s office working on elder abuse felonies, she developed an interest in criminal prosecution.

Today Shannon is a juvenile prosecutor in Whatcom county. When she applied for the job, she specifically selected juvenile court out of a desire to work with kids. Although she is on the other side and may be viewed by the juvenile offender as “the bad guy,” Shannon sees her work as beneficial to the child. “I enjoy having the opportunity to intervene in the child’s behavior, to put a stop to it, and make sure the child is held accountable,” she says. “The goal is to stop the behavior at this stage so that it does not occur in the future when the consequences may be more severe. Ultimately I see my role as helping kids even though they may not like it.”

In addition to helping kids, she also sees a role in helping society and defending the rights of victims. And from a professional standpoint, she enjoys the significant litigation experience she receives. Still, she returns to the notion of helping kids as central to her work: “The most rewarding thing that can happen in my job is never seeing those kids in the courtroom again,” she says. She notes that seeing kids successfully complete the drug court program is particularly rewarding for her. But like any other practice, there are negatives to go with the positives: although like many attorneys Shannon tends to be a workaholic, the heavy caseload can sometimes be challenging. She also finds herself sometimes generally frustrated when she sees so many kids committing crimes.

To help reduce criminal activity by kids and the resulting burden on the juvenile justice system, Shannon believes volunteerism is very important and a way that young lawyers can play a valuable role. She suggests young lawyers volunteer at organizations like the Boys and Girls Club where they can give guidance, support, and be positive role models. Young lawyers should also consider volunteering as mentors at local schools that participate in teen court programs.

Shannon thinks the biggest challenge facing the juvenile justice system is a lack of resources. She points out that the Juvenile Justice Act not only requires the juvenile be held accountable for his or her actions, but must also provide the opportunity for rehabilitation. To achieve this goal, programs designed to address problems such as mental health, family conflicts, and drug and alcohol issues must be provided. There may also be a need for foster care or safe houses for children, not only when their criminal case is pending but also after a resolution has been reached. She says, “Knowing what services or treatment would best for the youth is only half the battle. Finding a program or counseling to specifically address the issues can be difficult when the resources are not there.”

Despite the challenges, Shannon highly recommends her type of practice as it is incredibly rewarding and there is a great sense of accomplishment in the pursuit of justice. “Since becoming a juvenile prosecutor in Whatcom county, I have had extensive trial experience as well as an exposure to appellate practice. I am in court nearly every day. Because there are no juries and the time for trial is significantly shorter than it is in an adult court, the juvenile court calendar can accommodate multiple trials in one week. Depending on how a prosecutor’s office is set up, a juvenile prosecutor may have the opportunity to handle a range of cases from a simple gross misdemeanor minor-in-possession to a more complex felony sex case. In some counties, a juvenile prosecutor also has an opportunity to argue at the appellate level.” For those interested in this type of work, she suggests doing a job shadow, an internship, and – for those practicing attorneys – work as a conflict attorney or as pro bono counsel.

***

When deciding to go to law school, Nicole McGrath’s father – a life-long public defender who still practices in Santa Barbara, California – warned her to avoid practicing public defense because of the toll the work might take on her. So when she enrolled at Gonzaga Law School, Nicole intended to pursue a civil litigation career path. But after spending the summer after her 1L year interning at her father’s public defender office working on a murder case, she began to realize her passion for advocacy on behalf of the poor. The turning point came with a case she worked on at University Legal Assistance, Gonzaga’s legal clinic, where she represented an immigration client who had been incarcerated as a teen. After that experience, she decided to ignore her father’s warnings and chose to direct her interest in trial work toward a practice where she could give a voice to the often voiceless: public defense work.
Today Nicole works for The Defender Association (“TDA”), a public defense organization in Seattle. Because TDA attorneys are rotated through different divisions on an as-needed basis, Nicole has honed her trial skills while working on cases in misdemeanors, felonies, juvenile offenses, and now civil dependencies. After working on felony cases, she was glad to have the opportunity to work with kids. “My favorite area of practice has been representing children,” she says. “Kids often suffer the most in our justice system, both on the criminal and civil dependency sides. They are often abused and cannot effectively speak for themselves. They have complex issues and problems that require a skilled advocate to explore through investigation and working with parents and professionals, and who can then present to the court a holistic picture of the child’s circumstances.”

Like Shannon, Nicole believes the greatest impediment to ensuring justice for children is the lack of financial resources to fund necessary services, from therapeutic homes to social workers to public defenders. “Public defenders’ high caseloads have a direct bearing on the attorney-client relationship,” she says. “High caseloads can affect a defender’s ability to comprehensively investigate a child’s case and impairs our ability to develop a close trusting relationship with our clients, thereby impacting our service as zealous advocates.” Still, she believes she has a gift for working with kids and enjoys collaborating with the other players in the juvenile system (judges, attorneys, social workers, and the like) who all share a commitment to the best interests of children.
In addition to inadequate funding, Nicole sees another systemic challenge in the lack of therapeutic homes for kids who have sexually acted out. She believes that for these children, the approach should not be one of “branding” the child as a sex offender, but rather about providing the child with necessary treatment; in other words, not “writing off” the child, but instead providing much-needed help. Nicole further argues that there needs to be a greater degree of diversity among public defenders working in the juvenile system. She believes that families, like the ones she serves in Seattle, who tend to come from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds could benefit from representation by attorneys with similar or shared backgrounds.

Nicole believes that young attorneys can benefit greatly from giving a few years to the practice of law in the juvenile system. This kind of practice is not only as a means of developing good lawyering and litigation skills; it is also a way to fill the need for advocates to protect the rights of some of our most vulnerable citizens: children. As the law becomes increasingly punitive, there is a tremendous need for educated, experienced attorneys to work on behalf of children in order to send the message that juvenile matters are just as important as those in the adult system. For law students interested in a juvenile law practice, Nicole suggests taking a juvenile law class, working in a clinic or interning with a public defender program, and reading as much as possible about adolescent development and behavior. She also encourages attorneys to seek out volunteer work with non-profit organizations like Powerful Voices and TeamChild, and she particularly suggests YWCA Girls First (www.ywcaworks.org/girlsfirst), a leadership program targeted at teenage minority girls where volunteer opportunities include work as mentors and academic tutors. By considering a juvenile law practice or volunteering one’s time, lawyers can play a critical role in the success of this vitally important, but often overlooked, component in our justice system.

Jason T. Vail is editor of De Novo. Mr. Vail is a staff attorney with the Seattle office of Northwest Justice Project and is a staff attorney-legal editor with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s legal journal, Clearinghouse Review. He can be reached at 206-464-1519 or jasonv@nwjustice.org.