United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1995-06-19 monographic deposited born digital 97 p. GA 1.13:GGD-95-139 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139 P0b002ee1803a3ece f:gg95139 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139 GGD-95-139 Juvenile status offenders Courtroom proceedings State law Right to counsel Right to due process Lawyers Juvenile delinquency California Pennsylvania Nebraska Arizona Florida Maryland Missouri South Carolina Utah Idaho Kansas Louisiana New Mexico New York Texas Ohio Letter Report GGD Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed juveniles' access to counsel in state and local juvenile delinquency proceedings, focusing on: (1) juveniles' right to counsel under 15 states' laws; (2) the frequency with which juveniles have counsel in juvenile courts in 3 states; (3) the likely impact of counsel on juvenile justice outcomes; (4) juveniles' access to counsel in adult courts; and (5) the quality of counsel juveniles receive.<p/>GAO found that: (1) the 15 states reviewed had laws guaranteeing juveniles' right to counsel in delinquency proceedings which included provisions for indigent juveniles; (2) 11 states specified the circumstances under which juveniles could waive their right to counsel and in 3 states, juveniles could waive their right to counsel although statutes did not specifically provide for such waivers; (3) juvenile representation rates varied between 97 percent to 65 percent and between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; (4) the impact of counsel on case outcomes varied by the state and offense, but in 2 states, juveniles without representation were less likely to receive out-of-home placements; (5) differences in case outcomes between represented and nonrepresented juveniles were due more to other variables than to juveniles' representation status; (6) although there was no existing data on juveniles' access to counsel in adult courts, state laws provide for such representation; and (7) prosecutors and juvenile justice officials were generally satisfied with the quality of counsel juvenile offenders received and believed that public defenders were at least as capable as private attorneys, although they had excessive caseloads and limited resources. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139/html/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139.pdf GAO/GGD-95-139 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GGD-95-139 Letter Report GAO/GGD-95-139; Juvenile Justice: Representation Rates Varied As Did Counsel's Impact on Court Outcomes; Juvenile status offenders Courtroom proceedings State law Right to counsel Right to due process Lawyers Juvenile delinquency California Pennsylvania Nebraska Arizona Florida Maryland Missouri South Carolina Utah Idaho Kansas Louisiana New Mexico New York Texas Ohio Public Law 93-415 Public Law 102-586