Ensuring Access: A Policy Advocacy Toolkit (2018)

Access Denied found that “[n]o jurisdiction in the United States wholly fulfills the constitutional promise of justice for children.” So, no matter where you live and practice, your jurisdiction can improve.

As juvenile defense advocates, we have a responsibility to identify and work to correct systemic deficiencies and to honor our clients’ dignity and well-being. “[C]ounsel should strive to ensure that the system in which [they] represent young clients provides a fair and formal tribunal that abides by constitutional, statutory, and ethical mandates.”

Defenders are best situated to expose the shortcomings of the defense system, the overreach of the justice system, and the impact these have on our clients, their families, and communities. We need to make defender and youth voices heard at policymakers’ tables.