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EDITORIAL
Open the council
(Published March 22, 2004)

With little fanfare, D.C. City Council is considering legislation that would for the first time open to the public all court hearings involving juvenile delinquency unless a judge, on a case-by-case basis, chooses to close the proceedings.

Supporters of the change, which was proposed by Ward 3 Councilwoman Kathy Patterson, contend that open access to these proceedings would increase accountability for judges, lawyers and other professionals who work within the juvenile justice system. The bill is being co-sponsored by Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, Ward 6 Councilwoman Sharon Ambrose and At-Large Councilman Harold Brazil.

While The Common Denominator generally supports public access to government proceedings, there are sound public policy reasons – focused on the rehabilitative potential and developmental consequences for the child – that support continued restrictions on access to juvenile court proceedings.

Both D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Rufus King III and his predecessor, Senior Judge Eugene Hamilton, took the unusual step of testifying March 17 before the council’s Committee on the Judiciary to ask that the court’s current rules not be changed. King noted that current law allows any lawyer admitted to the D.C. Bar, D.C. Superior Court personnel and members of a juvenile defendant’s family to attend juvenile proceedings without special permission. Requests for court access from victims’ families, legislators and their staffs, and groups doing evaluations are usually granted "as a matter of course," King testified, and most news media requests to attend specific proceedings have been granted in recent years.

Judge King testified: "The law excludes the general public to ensure the safety of the children involved and to protect the confidentiality of sensitive social, medical and mental health information about the child and his family that often is discussed at the hearings. This proscription also enhances the ability of the court to encourage witnesses to testify candidly and to effect rehabilitation of juveniles, rather than stigmatizing them. While a few spectacular cases have received attention in the media, a substantial number of children who come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court do not return to the juvenile justice system … Allowing the general public into their proceedings could risk their safety and their families, open the way for neighborhood gossip about very private family matters and reduce the likelihood of success of any rehabilitative efforts."

Judge Hamilton, who testified as chairman of the mayor’s panel on juvenile justice reform, asserted succinctly: "This part of the system is not broken, and you do not need to fix it."

It is ironic that the city council has been engaged in secretive, closed-door meetings to discuss the governance structure of D.C. Public Schools and proposed multimillion-dollar reductions in government services while contending that the District’s courts have an accountability problem. There is no sound public policy reason for the council to routinely discuss proposed legislation without the general public being allowed access to those talks.

The council should vote to open its own proceedings to the public immediately and to strengthen legal repercussions for failure to do so.

Copyright 2004, The Common Denominator