Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Winter 2000 Edition

FOCUS

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A Look at theMaricopa County

Juvenile CourtFOCUS is now online at:

www.maricopa.gov/juvenile/focus/focus.htm

Kids Rest Safe in LockupState and county funds usedto build more sleeping quartersafter years of unsafe overcrowding Left: Arizona Supreme Court

Chief Justice Thomas Zlaketspeaks at the dedication ofthe Durango JuvenileDetention Center expansion.

Below: Juvenile CourtServices Director CherylnTownsend leads a tour of thenew 80-bed Juvenile Detentionwing.See story on page 2.

Officials Praise Expansion Effort

The recently com-pleted expansion of Juve-nile Court detention facili-ties is resolving pastovercrowding problemsand helping assure safetyfor its juvenile tenants.

Overcrowded condi-tions at the Durango Juve-nile Detention Center, 3125W. Durango, in Phoenix,were eased with thecompletion of an 80-bedexpansion, bringing thedetention population undercapacity for the first time inseveral years. And whileJuvenile Court officials andothers celebrate the newaddition, plans for furtherdetention and court expan-sion promise to enhancethe quality and quantity ofcourt services far into thefuture.

“Maricopa County isone of the fastest growingcounties in the U.S. Ouryouth population has beenprojected to increase 30percent over the next 10years,” said CherylnTownsend, Director of Ju-venile Court Services.“The sheer growth in popu-

lation is simply outgrowingour capacity, in terms offacilities and programs.We probably outgrew ourexisting facilities by 1994,and that gets compoundedevery year.”

Future plans call forconstruction of as many as220 more beds at Durangoand renovation at theSoutheast Juvenile Facilityfor 120 additional beds. TheSoutheast facility is at 1810S. Lewis, Mesa.

Ken Bond, AssistantDirector of Juvenile CourtServices, said the expan-sion provides an opportu-nity for Juvenile Court toenhance current juvenileoffender programs andopens the door for the cre-ation of more cost-effectiveand innovative programs.

“We are going to seeabout developing more al-ternatives to detention,”Bond said. “Detention isvery expensive. If we canfind continuums along theway that don’t require de-tention, we’ll probably beusing them.”

Bond said one possibil-

ity might be to increasehome detention optionswhile creating day andevening facilities where ju-veniles can report.

“We want to eliminateovercrowding and presentthe judges with a full rangeof options,” Bond said,adding that the plans atDurango feature a sepa-

rate 48-bed residentialtreatment facility for juve-niles with special needs.The treatment center likelywill be built on land adja-cent to the Juvenile CourtCenter. “We’re hoping, byhaving some treatmentbeds, to really do some-

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Private locked rooms are againstandard issue at the Durango Ju-venile Detention Facility. It’s notluxurious, but it’s a significant im-provement after overcrowding formore than two years forced juve-niles to sleep on mattresses scat-tered across the facility’s floorspace.

During the past few years, theneed for beds in juvenile detentionsurpassed availability of bedspace, at times forcing as many as50 juveniles to sleep on the floor --creating potential danger to juveniledetainees as well as staff.

That is no longer the case.The recent completion of an

80-bed expansion project, bringsthe total to 229 beds at the Durangofacility, 3125 W. Durango. Deten-tion officials are finally able to com-ply with state law requiring each ju-venile to have his or her own pri-vate, locked room in which tosleep.

State and county leaderslauded the completion of expansionefforts Durango Juvenile Detentionfacility during a dedication cer-emony in the detentiongymnasium.

Arizona SupremeCourt Chief Justice Tho-mas A. Zlaket was one ofseveral court and countyofficials attending thededication. As the key-note speaker, Zlaket com-mended the expansionand the safety it gives thejuveniles and detentionstaff.

Others who partici-pated in the dedicationincluded George Weisz,Executive Assistant toGovernor Jane Hull,Maricopa County Boardof Supervisors ChairmanAndrew Kunasek, Superior CourtPresiding Judge Robert Myers and

Juvenile Court Presiding JudgeMaurice Portley.

“The addi-tional space willallow the Juve-nile Court tohave space fortreatment andother programsso the Court cancontinue to workwith the young-sters to helpovercome someof the problemsthat led to delin-quent acts,”Portley said. “It’sa wonderful col-laboration be-tween the Legis-lature, Adminis-

trative Office of the Courts and theCounty Board of Supervisors to

meet the current juvenile justice needsin order to protect the community andhelp the youngsters referred to the Ju-venile Court.”

The expansion blends with thebuilding’s original design and featuresfour new 20-bed units.

The construction also added fourclassrooms and a multipurposeroom, which can be used as a train-ing room or a dining room, and a vari-ety of other purposes.

The project broke ground in Janu-ary and took 10 months to complete.It was built with county and statefunds. Juveniles were housed in theunits beginning in November.

The project cost approxi-mately $4.9 million. Maricopa Countycontributed $3.4 million. Another $1.3million came from a State Aid to De-tention Grant fund and the State Ju-venile Crime Reduction Fund Grantprovided $250,000.

80-bed Detention Expansion Dedicated

Officials cut the ribbon leading into the expanded wing at the Durango JuvenileDetention Center. From left: Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Myers, ArizonaSupreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Zlaket, Presiding Juvenile Court JudgeMaurice Portley, Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the CourtsDavid Byers and Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors AndrewKunasek.

Chairman of the MaricopaCounty Board of SupervisorsAndrew Kunasek (left) andGeorge Weisz, ExecutiveAssistant to Governor JaneHull.

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JUVENILE COURT NEWS BRIEFS

New, Familiar Faces On BenchThe unprecedented

addition of several seats onthe Superior Court

in Maricopa County benchhas led to severalchanges to the list of Ju-venile Court judges.

The Juvenile CourtDepartment recentlyadded four judges to itsranks amid the flurry ofjudicial appointmentsmade by Governor JaneHull.

Recently appointed judgesMargaret Downie, EmmetRonan, Eileen Willett andPenny Willrich join the JuvenileCourt roster.

Judge MargaretDownie was serving asa Juvenile Court Com-missioner when she wasappointed to the benchin December 1999.Judge Downie joined thebench as a commis-sioner in August, 1997and is currently assignedto the Durango Juvenile Courtfacility, where she served as acommissioner. Prior tobecoming a commis-sioner, Judge Downieserved as Chief Counselto the State Bar of Ari-zona.

Judge Eileen Willettalso served as a JuvenileCourt Commissioner be-fore Governor Hull ap-pointed her as a judge inNovember 1999.

Judge Willett is currently as-signed to the Durango JuvenileCourt facility, where she alsoserved as a commissioner. She

became a Superior Court commis-sioner in April 1998. Immediately

before becoming a com-missioner, she wasChief Administrative LawJudge with the IndustrialCommission of Arizona.

Judge PennyWillrich was appointedin September 1999 andis currently assigned tothe Southeast JuvenileCourt facility. Prior to her

appointment, Judge Willrich servedas a commissioner in both theCriminal and Juvenile Depart-ments. Judge Willrich worked as apro tem judge for Superior Court

prior to her appointmentas a commissioner in1995.

The newest face inJuvenile Court is that ofJudge Emmet Ronan,who was appointed inJanuary 1999. JudgeRonan’s legal careerconcentrated on de-fense work. He was a

deputy Public Defender immedi-ately before his appointment to the

bench. He is assignedto the Southeast Juve-nile Court facility.

Other changes inJuvenile Court includethe departure of JudgesAlfred Fenzel andJames Padish. Both,served as Juvenile CourtCommissioners imme-diately before being ap-

pointed to judgeships. JudgeFenzel and Judge Padish were ap-pointed as judges in November of1999. Both currently preside overcriminal calendars.

Willett

Willrich

Presiding Judge PortleyJoins Distinguished List

Presiding Juvenile Court JudgeMaurice Portley was recently se-lected “Man of the Year” by the Val-ley Leadership Program.

Judge Portley joins a distin-guished group of past recipients ofValley Leadership’s annual honor,which recognizes exemplary in-volvement in the community outsideof the individuals’ everyday jobs.

“I am surprised, humbled andhonored at being selected as theMan of the Year 2000 by Valley Lead-ership,” Judge Portley said. “I hopethat with the honor, issues confront-ing children and families will stay inthe forefront and be addressed forthe healthy future of our community.”

Valley Leadership was foundedin 1979, and now has more than1,000 members. Each year, theleadership program selects 45members for a nine-month programproviding in-depth exposure to criti-cal issues facing the community.

Among the past 50 “Man of theYear” honorees are formerScottsdale Mayor Herb Drinkwater,former U.S. Senator BarryGoldwater, Sports Mogul JerryColangelo and Phoenix Business-man Eddie Basha. Among the 48women who have received the“Woman of the Year” distinction areU.S. Supreme Court Justice SandraDay O’Connor, former GovernorRose Mofford, writer Erma Bombeckand former Phoenix Mayor Marga-ret Hance.

Downie

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First local Juvenile Drug Court Judge Shares Expertise At Conference

Superior Court in Maricopa County Judge John Foreman (left) shared his expertiseimplementing Drug Court programs during the Juvenile and Family Drug CourtTraining Conference in downtown Phoenix.

As the architect of the JuvenileDrug Court in Maricopa County, Su-perior Court Judge John Foremanhas experienced firsthand how diffi-cult it can be to conquer juvenile sub-stance abuse problems and howchallenging it is to try to craft a courtprogram that can successfully pro-vide help.

Foreman had little to go on whileinitiating the Juvenile Drug Court Pro-gram in 1997. He had to rely on ex-isting programs with no more thantwo years of practical applicationthroughout the country.

“There is no place you can go tofind a blueprint. People are still ex-perimenting,” Foreman said, notingthe oldest drug courts have existeda mere five years. “We’ve found ju-venile drug courts and family drugcourts are much more complicatedthan adult drug courts because youhave people outside the courtroomthat have a significant impact on theoutcome.”

Foreman, who presides over aJuvenile Drug Court calendar oncea week, spoke of his experience andshared his drug court expertise withhundreds of participants in the FirstJuvenile and Family Drug CourtTraining Conference, which was heldin January in downtown Phoenix.The conference included workshops,panel discussions and keynote pre-sentations.

Foreman participated on two

panels that discussed critical ele-ments of juvenile and family drugcourts and the judges role, respec-tively. He credited the conferenceas a valuable tool in creating a mapthrough the relatively uncharted wa-ters of Juvenile Drug Court.

“How do you deal with a kid whohas a substance abuse problem,when the kid goes home to a familymember who has a substanceabuse problem?” Foreman asked.“Developmentally, kids are different

thing positive with the kids.”The treatment facility may also

be used to shelter troubled juveniles,seeking a safe harbor even thoughthey do not need treatment or are notin trouble with the law.

The future expansion of theDurango Juvenile Court Center isplanned to include a two-story build-ing to the west of existing structures,and will incorporate 12 courtrooms

and space for Court Administration,the Clerk of the Court, the PublicDefender’s Office and the CountyAttorney’s Office.

At the Southeast Facility in Mesa,renovation is planned to create 120more detention beds, more spacefor Court Administration and one newcourtroom.

All construction and renovationis tentatively scheduled for comple-

tion in December, 2002.County voters approved funding

for the new court facility and deten-tion expansion in the 1998 electionwith the passage of Propositions 400and 401. Voter approval authorizeda nine-year jail tax, projected to raise$900 million. It is estimated thatabout $60 million of the jail tax willbe used for Juvenile Court construc-tion projects.

Expansion, from Page 1

than adults. They require immediacyin sanctions ... but due processtakes time.”

Foreman said one difficulty inapplying a juvenile drug court pro-gram to a community, is that somecommunities’ needs vary dependingon local law and legal culture.

The first Juvenile Drug Court wasstarted in Florida in 1994 modeledafter adult drug court, which was

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Waiting Area Provides Playful Oasis For Children

started in 1992. Foreman said theissues involved in the Juvenile DrugCourt program pose challengesnonexistent in adult drug courts.

Elements unique to the Juve-nile Drug Court Program include in-tensive supervision, immediateconsequences, frequent judicialreview, community partnerships,frequent drug tests and family par-ticipation.

“Juvenile Drug Court holds thepromise of being able to save so-ciety and the justice system tre-mendous amounts of money in thelong term, as opposed to juvenileincarceration,” Foreman said. “Formany juveniles, drug court is thelast stop before juvenile correc-

tions. They are kids we’ve beenable to salvage from a placementthat would cost $30,000-$35,000a year, a piece.”

Juvenile Drug Court inMaricopa County has grown sinceits inception.

There are two additional Supe-rior Court judges in MaricopaCounty - Rebecca Albrecht andPamela Franks - who also presideover Juvenile Drug Courts once aweek.

Foreman is convinced DrugCourt has been the most effectiveway of treating juvenile drug abuse.

“In the short term, it requires alot of work and the decision-mak-ing process is the most intellectu-

ally challenging decision-making incourt right now,” Foreman said.“What juveniles go through is a tri-umph of the human spirit.”

The conference attracted morethan 1,000 judges and court officialsfrom throughout the nation, includ-ing Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Directorof the Office of National Drug Con-trol Policy, who was one of the key-note speakers. The conference isplanned to be an annual event.

“ What you’ve seen is an explo-sion of interest,” Foreman said of theconference, which drew four timesmore people than expected. “Morepeople are convinced this is an im-portant treatment modality for theircommunity.”

The dedication ceremony for thechildren’s waiting area at the South-east Mesa Juvenile Court Centersorely tested the patience of one ofits first customers.

The silent glare from a little girllet the group of judges, lawyers andofficials know they were standing in aspot that would be better put to use ifthey stepped aside to let her rompjoyfully with the awaiting stuffed ani-mals, toy pickup trucks and toy guitarthat lights up while playing a tune.

As the celebrants cleared the wayfor the eager child, they watched asthe waiting area met its purpose to en-tertain a child while parents and sib-lings engaged in necessary courtbusiness.

“Children have a very hard timesitting in a chair and being quiet forextended periods of time,” saidCheryln Townsend, Director of Juve-nile Court Services. “The waiting areaoffers a place to play, to read, and tosimply be a child. It has reduced thetension and the noise in our waitingarea.”

Although it occupies only a smallarea in the corner of the main lobby,

the children’s waiting area was nosmall effort.

The Maricopa County Bar As-sociation (MCBA) Young LawyersDivision initiated the concept of achildren’s waiting area in SuperiorCourt more than three years ago.After meetingsand discus-sions, it be-came a mutualeffort of younglawyers andJuvenile Courtofficials. Whileserving as Ju-venile CourtP r e s i d i n gJudge, JohnForeman lenthis support to developing achildren’s waiting room. A changein presiding judges in 1998 did notdisrupt the planning, and JudgeMaurice Portley continued provid-ing court support for the project af-ter taking over the duties of Juve-nile Court Presiding Judge. Whenhurdles arose, solutions were mu-tually worked out. Eventually the

dream became reality. “The children’s waiting area is

meant to help the families have a safediversion for their children while thecourt provides a needed service to thecommunity,” said Margaret Gillespie,MCBA chairperson of the Committee on

Children.The small car-

peted area fea-tures toys of allkinds and isflanked by wallswith brightly col-ored paint andchildren’s decora-tions. The area isunsupervised bycourt staff, but isin plain sight of

parents waiting in the lobby.The project was funded by a $500

grant and donations of the toys andother items.

A children’s waiting area is includedin the plans for the Juvenile Court com-plex addition, in Phoenix, near the ex-isting facility at 3125 W. Durango, inPhoenix. The expansion is scheduledfor completion in 2002.

Juvenile Drug Court, from Page 4

Superior Court of ArizonaJuvenile Court1810 S. LewisMesa, Arizona85210-6234

Presiding Judge Maurice PortleyJudge Rebecca AlbrechtJudge Emmet RonanJudge Linda ScottJudge Penny WillrichCommissioner Elizabeth ArriolaCommissioner Thomas JacobsCommissioner Elizabeth Yancey

JUVENILE COURT JUDICIAL OFFICERS

602.506.2306602.506.3727602.506.0438602.506.2610602.506.2502602.506.1117602.506.4203602.506.2040

602.506.3528602.506.5015602.506.6086602.506.3663602.506.3343602.506.3445602.506.3892602.506.7665

Southeast Court Center1810 South Lewis St.

Mesa, AZ 85210

Durango Court Center3125 West DurangoPhoenix, AZ 85009

Associate Presiding Judge Pam FranksJudge Margaret DownieJudge Brian HauserJudge William Sargeant IIIJudge Eileen WillettCommissioner Jane Bayham-LesselyongCommissioner George Foster Jr.Commissioner Toby Gerst