Melissa Pryce, public defender, Speaks About Juvenile Law

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Since September, juvenile crime has been the topic of media coverage in Prince George’s County. On a weekly basis, now, one can find multiple reports of carjackings in the county. In early September, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, responding to an uptick in carjackings, and murders in the county, decided to issue a juvenile curfew. Extending the curfew until the end of this year, Alsobrooks, said it is “a tool that we could add to our toolbox to help us combat the rise in violence we were seeing.” The curfew would be, and still is, enforced by police officers. (What hasn’t been much of a topic is that for over a decade, crime in Prince George’s County had significantly declined. Compared to former crime data, carjackings and killings are still relatively low). Teenagers 16 years old and younger are required at least until early January to be off the streets 10 p.m. until 5 a.m.  Sunday - Thursday, However, Friday and Saturday times adjust to 11: 59 a.m. to 5 a.m.  

Some community members are against it, saying that it increases the chances of teenagers interacting with the Prince George’s Police Department – which has a less-than-stellar reputation at the moment. A current study  shows that curfews do not help to curb youth crime, but instead create more problems. In the first press conference announcing the curfew, Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Azziz and Alsobrooks blamed the State’s Attorney’s Office as well as juvenile court judges, saying that they were conducting a juvenile “catch and release.”

I reached out to Melissa Pryce, district public defender for Prince George’s County. She has been a public defender for 12 years. Pryce is Jamaican-America. She got her start at a small firm doing personal injury law. She is proud of her accomplishments, and she loves being a public defender. “It wasn’t until I sat in a criminal courtroom and watched a criminal court docket. (It was there that) completely fell in love with criminal law,” Pryce told me. I talked to her about juvenile law in Maryland, the socioeconomic status of her Prince George’s County clients, crime, and the curfew. Pryce also helped to draft a letter with Natasha Dartique, the first African American to lead the Maryland Office of Public Defender, saying they disagreed with the youth curfew. This interview has been edited for clarity.

What is the socioeconomic status of the youth you serve?

Pryce: Let me just say this. Generally speaking, our clients hail from a variety of different backgrounds. Some of the parents of the children work for federal agencies, are local government employees, and some of them work in the healthcare industry.  However, the common thread amongst our youth is that they come from impoverished neighborhoods, have some mental health issues and educational disabilities. Some have been traumatized at early ages, and those issues have never been addressed. Moreover, at an early age, some of our clients have been exposed to community violence. The court system in Maryland has a severe racial disparity problem, which means more Black and brown children compared to white children end up in the system.

How does the juvenile system work? What is the law concerning juveniles? 

Pryce: So if I understand the question correctly, if you are under the age of 18 years old, you’re considered a child or juvenile. If you're a juvenile, and you're charged with a crime, but it's a misdemeanor or a lower offense, your case is going to start with a petition that's filed by the Prince George’s County State's Attorney's office. That petition usually has allegations of delinquent conduct. It basically states the charges alleged against the juvenile and the circumstances supporting those charges. Then hearing dates are set.

A child is entitled to representation either by a private attorney or a public offender. The first hearing is a detention hearing. A judge in that detention hearing is going to decide whether the child is going to be held, pending a hearing date, another hearing date, or if they're going to be released back to the custody of their parents or guardians. This is no different from the adult process in the sense that the state must turn over evidence to the defense to prepare. The defense attorney has the opportunity to hear the allegations, know all the witnesses, family members and look at all the evidence that the state’s attorney may believe they have against the child.  This is in preparation to either argue a specific motion to try to get the matter resolved, negotiate a plea resolution or have an actual trial. This is a little bit different if the child is charged as an adult. Children, ages 14 to 17, who are charged with violent crimes (rape, murder, robbing with a deadly weapon, are charged as adults. Their hearings start in adult court.  However, it is possible for a juvenile, who has been charged as an adult, to be transferred down to the juvenile court. But again, if a juvenile charge falls within certain criteria, like rape or murder, then that case stays in adult court.

In terms of the system, how has the juvenile system changed over the years in terms of prosecuting juveniles?

Pryce: The system has changed over the years. Historically, Prince George's County stood out for its extremely high rates of incarceration for low risk-youth. Prince George’s County was one of the worst in the state in 2015 for locking up low-risk non-violent children. Since that time period, both youth incarceration and youth crime have fallen dramatically.  Based on the data that show the harm done by incarcerating children, exposing them to the adult incarceration system, legislators changed the law to focus on how we can rehabilitate children.

In this regard, is the child eligible to be released from being detained? 

Pryce: Yes. A juvenile in this situation is going to have some kind of hearing. The defense attorney for a teenager charged as an adult still has the opportunity to argue to a judge as to why this teenager should at least be in the community awaiting their actual trial dates. So it's no different from an adult charged with a crime. According to the law, a defense attorney can argue that their client can be successful in the community while awaiting their trial date. Judges take into consideration the kind of charges levied against the child, whether the child will cause harm if returned to their communities, and whether the child has parental/guardianship supervision. The judge can also order the child to have an ankle bracelet. Additionally, if children are released back into the community, they may have to issue reports showing that they attended school. Moreover, they are not required to leave their place of residence unless it is for work or some other pre-approved event. They are heavily monitored.

There is this idea that when juveniles are charged with a crime, they’re guilty, and therefore should immediately go to jail. What does it mean when a juvenile or adult is charged with a crime? 

Pryce: So it's the same logic that you would have even if it were an adult who committed a crime. Sometimes, it's very difficult for lay people in the community to understand that we have to abide by the Constitution. You are innocent until proven guilty – despite being charged with a crime, and despite allegations by a police officer. It is the prosecutor or the state's attorney's responsibility and duty to prove that a juvenile is guilty.

Additionally, people in our community have diverse views about our children and child incarceration. There are many community members who seem to believe the courts are releasing juveniles back to the street and that is what’s causing harm. That narrative, I believe, is driven by the police who aggressively push for using incarceration to be increased. Perhaps, there may have been a decrease in youth incarceration in Maryland and throughout the country. But, we know that incarceration does not help children. 

I don't want to put words in your mouth. So let me ask a question. Are you saying that there seems to be a narrative that may not be reflective of what community members actually think and believe? 

Pryce: Yes, 100 percent. Again, any narratives that say children are the driving factor of increased crime in our communities are driven by the police or other individuals who believe children should be locked up.

Turning to the Maryland Office of Public Defenders’  letter against Angela Alsobrooks's teen curfew. Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue wrote, “this curfew increased the likelihood of young people being needlessly drawn into the criminal justice system.” Since the curfew has there been an increase in juveniles coming through the system? 

Pryce: I can’t answer that question. You would have to attain that data from the Department of Juvenile Services or from the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office. However, I can say that curfews do absolutely nothing to curb crime. The curfew increases the chances of that child having an interaction with Prince George’s County police officers. This can be traumatizing. Additionally, crimes don’t necessarily only occur late at night. They happen throughout the day.

This concludes our interview. Is there anything that you would like to say or add that I did not ask?

Pryce: Children are children and should not be treated like adults because they’re simply not adults. They should never be demonized, should never be thrown away, or cast aside. Our initial response should be – no matter if they’re charged as adults or in juvenile court – to protect our children, so that we can set them on a better path. That’s the only thing I would like to add.

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