Juvenile Legal Defense: A Report on Access to Counsel and Quality of Representation for Children in Nebraska (2009)

In 1967, in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the United States Supreme Court extended the right to counsel to young people accused of crimes, explaining that youth need “the guiding hand of counsel” to respond to the charges leveled against them and to navigate the complicated justice system. This assessment of access to counsel and quality of representation for youth in Nebraska is part of a nationwide effort to address deficiencies and identify strengths in juvenile indigent defense practices. The goal of this assessment is to arm policymakers, judges, defender managers and others with the knowledge to improve the management and implementation of juvenile indigent defense services.

The information in this report was collected by a team of experts from across the country, with the guidance of two knowledgeable and dedicated advisory boards of national and Nebraska stakeholders, and with the support of the University of Nebraska’s Public Policy Center (PPC). Assessment team investigators traveled to 9 geographically diverse counties, chosen after extensive consultation with the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center and the national and state advisory boards, to observe courtroom proceedings and to interview judges, prosecutors, probation staff, public defenders and private attorneys, detention personnel, court administrators, support staff, youth, parents, and other key system stakeholders. The selected sample of counties represents at least 60% of the youth who go through Nebraska’s juvenile delinquency courts.