In one of two decisions released by the Ohio Supreme Court last week regarding juvenile criminal proceedings, the divided court held that the mandatory transfer to adult court of juveniles aged 16 and older is unconstitutional. The 4-3 majority, in an opinion authored by Justice Judith Lanzinger, held “that the mandatory transfer of juveniles without [...]
Last week, Ohio State Bar Association president Ronald Kopp presented the association’s Judicial Administration and Legal Reform Committee Innovative Court Practices Award to the Delaware County Probate and Juvenile Court. The county court won for its administration of a craft group for girls called Gaining Invaluable Relationships and Learning Coping Skills, or GIRLS. The OSBA’s [...]
Thirteen Ohio juvenile courts have been awarded technology grants by the state’s high court. The funds, which will go to support local projects, were distributed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Court Improvement Program. According to Court News Ohio, the money will “help remove barriers” and “provide a more efficient and [...]
A divided Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled 4-3 that a juvenile adjudication cannot be used to enhance a penalty for an adult conviction. The majority’s opinion, written by Justice Judith Lanzinger, held that Adrian Hand Jr.’s prior juvenile adjudication for aggravated robbery was improperly used as a first-degree felony conviction to enhance his sentence for [...]
A report recently released by the Juvenile Justice Coalition of Ohio reveals a lack of comprehensive data collection in Ohio’s juvenile courts. The report, titled “Denied Existence: The Untold Stories of 90,000 Cases in Ohio’s Juvenile Courts,” cites a multimillion dollar juvenile court system sustained by taxpayer dollars from every level of government that has [...]