Efforts are underway to improve the flow of information to the public about juvenile crimes as the nature of those crimes becomes more serious.

Data show that the leading juvenile delinquency charges are violent crimes such as carjackings and aggravated assaults, but the public only has access to aggregated information, not specific details, as they try to understand current crime trends. 

That’s because of efforts to shield juveniles from the same level of public scrutiny that adult criminals receive as efforts to rehabilitate those youths are in progress.

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Among the efforts to make more information available is a move to establish online “dashboards” that will provide more information, or as much permitted by law, to anyone seeking it. 

The Daily Memphian asked to sit in on a day of juvenile court proceedings, but the request was denied because it could potentially violate the right to privacy for children and their parents, said Stephanie White, executive director of media for Shelby County Juvenile Court.

Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon said the court is “transparent to the extent we are allowed to (be) ethically and statutorily.” 

State law limits media and public access to juvenile court proceedings and case records, but the local juvenile court often grants courtroom access for specific cases. An example was proceedings for Miguel Andrade and another juvenile accused in the death of Rev. Autura Eason-Williams. 

Rule 30, enacted by the Tennessee Supreme Court as a pilot program in 1996 and made permanent the next year, requires media wishing to cover juvenile proceedings to check with officials two days beforehand. If the accused wishes for the media not to attend, media are not allowed.

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The public also has limited access to case records and can only inspect petitions and orders of the court for delinquency cases if the act was a certain violent act and committed by a juvenile age 14 or above, according to another state law.

A time of broader access

Former Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael remembers juvenile courtrooms sometimes being crowded with news cameras in the early 1990s when he practiced juvenile law.

“When I first got to the court on ‘major crimes day,’ (which) is what we called it in Courtroom 1, we would have all the news stations with big cameras lined up across the back wall,” Michael said. “It was just that way. The rule changed that because they’re juveniles.”

Sugarmon said protecting juveniles as they go through rehabilitation is paramount to their recovery, adding that they are vulnerable.

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“They can’t make informed decisions because of a lack of experience, because of lack of the development of the brain,” Sugarmon said. “And so protecting their privacy at this stage is extremely important.”

Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw said in his court, which hears all juvenile proceedings in Chattanooga, the default position is that all juvenile court hearings are closed to the public, unlike most adult courts. 

“In most courts, you can walk in and sit down and observe the process,” Philyaw said. “But since we’re dealing with children, there’s good reason for those courtrooms to not be open to the public.”

Reporters in Davidson County often don’t come inside the courtrooms, said Jennifer Wade, the court administrator and media contact for Juvenile Court of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. If they do report from the courthouse, they’re typically broadcasting or filming outside. 

“But if they reached out to me, and it was one of those cases that was open to the public, then I would make sure that the magistrate or judicial official is aware of that,” Wade said. “And then that judicial official probably would make sure that everyone in the courtroom is aware of it.”

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Memphis attorney Jake Brown said juveniles are not considered criminals because they are not old enough or developed enough to “truly be held accountable for their actions.” Youth should not be subjected to the same public scrutiny as adults, Brown said.

“If you and I go out and shoot somebody, well, we have no right to privacy about that fact,” Brown said. “We probably don’t want that blasted all over the news, but it’s newsworthy content. The same paradigm does not apply when you’re talking about juveniles.”

Court files and records are closed to the public in most cases. Information in many cases is limited to judges, officers of the court and the professional staff and attorneys involved in the proceedings.

There is an exception, however, for those 14 years old or older accused of acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute most violent felonies. These include first-degree murder, second-degree murder, rape, especially aggravated robbery and especially aggravated kidnapping.

The exception also includes delinquent acts that “would constitute an act of terrorism or an attempted act of terrorism” designed to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or “influence the policy of a unit of government.”

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It can include “a premeditated act of violence or violence in pursuit of religious, ideological or social objectives” aimed at law enforcement officers, correctional officers, first responders and probation or parole officers.

Even in those cases, the public record is limited to petitions and orders from the court. It cannot include medical reports and psychological evaluations.

Once the court makes a decision, a record of what was decided is made for the parent or guardian of the child and for the school the juvenile may be attending.

“Juvenile courts are not always set up to be transparent,” Wade said. “Sometimes, that is to the betterment of that child and our community. Because, ultimately, once you paint a kid with one broad stroke, it’s very hard to undo that. And all of us are more than the worst thing we ever did when we were 15.”

Bill Gibbons, a former Shelby County District Attorney General and the current leader of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission and University of Memphis Public Safety Institute, said he was torn on the issue of the transparency in the juvenile court. He did say, however, that current laws may need to be amended to reflect current crime trends.

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The law limiting access to juvenile case files does not include aggravated assault or carjacking, he said. 

Gibbons referenced a provision in another state law that he said one could argue should be modified to include holding a juvenile accountable in addition to providing rehabilitation.

“This provision was enacted back in the 1970s at a time when juvenile crime was very different than it is today,” Gibbons said. “It was mainly property crime, shoplifting, maybe stealing a car every now and then and not that often. Serious violent crime in juveniles was few and far between. In fact, carjackings were something that no one even imagined.”

Data-driven solutions

Rory Pulvino, director of analytics for Justice Innovation Labs (JIL) that provides data-driven recommendations to prosecutors nationwide, said state laws are often interpreted to seal not only the record but also the actual data. 

“That causes some issues, obviously, with transparency to the public,” Pulvino said. “The harder issue that causes is it actually prevents, generally, criminal justice actors from collaborating with other government agencies in terms of providing social services to juveniles, and so that often can be a challenge.”

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Gibbons, however, said he does not have issues receiving data from juvenile court, which he includes in Crime Commission reports throughout the year. But he does not have access to most case files. 

A joint resolution by the Shelby County Commission and the Memphis City Council calls for data “dashboards” to be provided by the District Attorney General’s office and Shelby County Juvenile Court. The County Commission is scheduled to vote on the joint resolution March 20, and the council approved it March 7.

The court already has a dashboard in place that has not been updated since 2021. Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy has said he is in the process of such a dashboard for his office.

The council also amended the resolution to call for similar data tracking on how cases are handled and key decisions made in those cases in the county’s criminal courts as well as General Sessions Environmental Court.

The idea is that the public would be able to review individual cases and see how a case is progressing and who has made what decisions in that case.

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Council members talked about citizens being able to track individual cases in order to hold judges as well as prosecutors accountable for plea deals, bail amounts and releases without bail.

The council discussion didn’t get into some of the provisions in juvenile cases that by state law shield the identity of a defendant as well as mental and physical health considerations. It also shields information about past appearances in the juvenile court system raised in reports and judges to determine sentences.

While the City Council discussed the data dashboards it was requesting from the DA’s office and juvenile court, Mulroy’s spokesperson sent out a press release announcing it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with JIL, which will make recommendations for the office’s own data dashboard. 

Mulroy told The Daily Memphian that his office and JIL began working on the MOU months ago, long before the joint resolution was introduced.

Experts from JIL will embed in the DA’s office for at least a year to review the office’s data and interview staff. Experts will help clean data, show employees how to use data to evaluate office performance and help design the data dashboard.

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The public will be able to access the data dashboard, which on the juvenile side will display information regarding racial disparities, number of detentions and arrests and recidivism rates. 

“The more that data becomes transparent, the better the public can understand what’s actually going on and maybe clear up some misconceptions about the system,” Mulroy said. “And, also, the better or the easier it is for the public to hold decision-makers in the system accountable.”

Sugarmon emphasized the juvenile court understands the public’s desire for transparency and said addressing it is going to take “multi-systemic” and “multi-governmental” input.

“It’s not gonna be solved by simply law enforcement or simply the court systems,” Sugarmon said. “Each of us has a role to play in that. I understand the public’s interest, and we will be as transparent on our end as the law allows us and our statute of requirements allows.”

Bill Dries contributed to this story.