The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Sept. 7 exposé about Juvenile Court Judge Alex Kim’s YouTube antics pulled back the curtain on the myth of the benevolent and wise juvenile court judge ensconced with the power to guide errant youth on a course of rehabilitation.
Lindsey E. Smith & Nadia Mozaffar, American Bar Association •
Juvenile Law Center is proud to share a recent publication from Lindsey E. Smith & Nadia Mozaffar regarding the harms of restitution. We are proud to be a leader in the Debt Free Justice campaign and staunchly support the end of court fines, fees, and restitution for all youth.
In the winter of 2007, when I was 15 years old, a police officer called my home in White Haven, Pa. to inform me I was being arrested for creating a MySpace parody of my vice principal. The officer told my mother he would charge me with abuse of the internet and internet stalking — both federal charges — unless she agreed not to involve attorneys.
Young people caught up in the juvenile justice system are too often punished for being poor, saddled with paying excessive restitution that leaves them broke and leaves their victims out of luck, too, a new report says.
