Court orders attorney to turn over juvenile-related records

Posted 10/14/10

In a weekly meeting, Skoric and those other officials determine whether charges should be filed in the county's juvenile-specific court or in courts used primarily for adults — the municipal, circuit or district courts.

Jennifer Horvath, a …

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Court orders attorney to turn over juvenile-related records

Posted

A District Court judge has ordered Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to turn over information outlining how his office determines the appropriate court for juveniles accused of criminal wrongdoing.In cooperation with other agencies — such as local personnel from Department of Family Services, Park County Youth Services and law enforcement — the county attorney serves as the gatekeeper or “single point of entry” for all juvenile criminal cases in Park County.

In a weekly meeting, Skoric and those other officials determine whether charges should be filed in the county's juvenile-specific court or in courts used primarily for adults — the municipal, circuit or district courts.

Jennifer Horvath, a staff attorney for the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a July petition in the Park County's district court seeking a copy of the criteria used in determining to which court juveniles should go. Skoric had refused to provide Horvath with a copy, arguing that Wyoming law prohibited the release of the information.

Last week, District Court Judge Steven Cranfill — who also presides over the county's juvenile court — found the Park County Single Point of Entry Policy was a public record and ordered Skoric to provide Horvath with a copy.

The relevant portion of state statute says Wyoming records “evidencing any legal or administrative process or disposition resulting from a minor's misconduct are confidential.”

Skoric had contended the criteria was a part of a “legal or administrative process.”

Horvath, however, had argued the criteria were not related to any specific minor's misconduct and were therefore a public record.

Cranfill agreed with Horvath, finding that the state law was intended only to protect individual juveniles' misconduct from becoming public.

“The (point of entry) criteria ... is generic to all minors and, as such, not confidential,” Cranfill wrote in his Oct. 4 decision.

Skoric provided a copy of the one-page policy to the Tribune on Wednesday.

Essentially, the brief document puts in writing exactly what Skoric has verbally said is his office's policy. It states that the criteria used to determine the appropriate court is consulting with other agencies and examining “the minor's past criminal history, contacts with law enforcement, severity of offense, and any other factors relevant to the minor's presenting offense.”

“There's nothing magical or secretive about the process,” he said.

Skoric said Tuesday he did not plan to appeal the decision.

In her petition, Horvath said disclosure of the single point of entry policy would allow the public to better understand how decisions are made in prosecuting juveniles. She also said it would allow the public to evaluate whether Skoric was complying with state law.

Horvath was the co-author of a June report, entitled “A Call to Stop Juvenile Prosecutions in Adult Courts,” highly critical of the Wyoming's treatment of juvenile offenders. It singled out Park County for specific criticism, questioning the fairness of the system and the jailing of juveniles in the county.

One portion describes an Park County 8-year-old counting out quarters to pay back a fine in municipal court.

Skoric said the report was “flat-out misleading.” He specifically pointed to one section that claimed 204 juveniles were arrested in Park County in 2008; in actuality, Skoric said, that number was 31.

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