Columnist Sandra Thompson: Judges, juvenile justice system at odds

Sandra Thompson

Sunday, July 16, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Sandra Thompson is vice president/associate editor of the Las Vegas Sun. She can be reached at 259-4025 or e-mail at thompson@lasvegassun.com.

There had been a lot of grumbling around the Family Court complex about inconsistent sentencings and rulings in Juvenile Court.

That grumbling recently turned into a public roar after a 15-year-old boy attacked a female correctional officer at the Clark County Youth Detention Center. The teen then escaped and committed more crimes before he was caught.

His sentencing, scheduled for this week, has set off a flurry of questions, criticism and debate.

The issue boils down to a difference in philosophy and what role the Juvenile Court judge should play.

Juvenile justice officials believe violent teens should be certified as adults and placed in prison or some other secure facility. Juvenile Court Judge Bob Gaston says certification doesn't work. "It's a disastrous failure," he says. "It doesn't rehabilitate the child."

In a highly unusual move, Gaston released the 15-year-old attacker for a few days to be evaluated by Rite of Passage, a private youth correctional program in Northern Nevada, to determine if he would benefit from the program. Gaston says state law gives him the authority to determine placement.

Juvenile justice officials say he overstepped his bounds. The state, not the judge, should make the decision on where to place a juvenile offender, they say. Their main concern is that Rite of Passage is not a secure facility, which the teen needs.

This is not the only case where the two sides have disagreed. Critics say Gaston doesn't know the law and procedures as well as he should. Also, once he takes a stand on an issue, he won't budge.

One juvenile justice official concedes that Gaston has a "good heart," but says the judge thinks the juvenile justice system should rehabilitate every youth, which is impossible. While he agrees that the vast majority of youths can be rehabilitated, he says others need stronger measures and punishment.

Gaston says it doesn't make sense to send a 14- or 15-year-old to an adult prison.

As for the teen who attacked the correctional officer, Gaston says the detention center employees may feel that it's a discredit to them if he doesn't impose the harshest sentence, but he "can't make a decision on a child's welfare based on revenge."

"The misperception is that I'd slap a child on the wrist and not punish him for attacking (the officer). I want punishment and rehabilitation," Gaston says.

The issue will spill over into the Legislature next year. A legislative committee, headed by state Sen. Valerie Wiener, D-Las Vegas, has been conducting public hearings on juvenile justice and will report its findings to the Legislature. Gaston says he has prepared a presentation for lawmakers, and the Judicial Assessment Commission, a task force appointed by the Nevada Supreme Court, will recommend "blended sentencing." Under that model, youthful offenders could be subjected to the adult criminal process, but are given an opportunity to be rehabilitated through juvenile services.

The major issues are how to handle the most violent teen offenders and chronic criminals, and whether the "punishment" matches the behavior. Wiener says her concern is placing status offenders such as habitual truants in juvenile detention facilities with teens who have committed serious criminal offenses. That's a huge issue in Clark County, whose detention facility is severely overcrowded. The problems were detailed here March 5. Detention center officials say judges should not be sentencing truants to the juvenile jail.

Which brings us back to philosophical differences between judges and juvenile justice officials, and that courthouse grumbling.

Is the rift more about judicial muscle flexing than meting out fair sentences?

Gaston says it's more about kids.

"So many things can be done to make the system right," the judge says. "Our focus has to be the kids."