August 2018 Bar Bulletin
By Andrew W. Maron
On June 20, the KCBA Board of Trustees adopted a resolution recommending 11 statutory changes to the Washington juvenile justice system. In general, the recommended changes would vest more discretion in judges to consider the mitigating effects of youth. In taking this action, the Board endorsed the recommendations of the KCBA Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force, established in 2016.
The task force was created to examine whether barriers exist in the King County juvenile justice system that contribute to disproportionate involvement by children of color, gender, income, sexual orientation and/or disabilities. The task force was chaired by attorney Nicole McGrath and retired...