Seeking Justice - The Impact of Prosecutorial Discretion in Juvenile Court and Beyond 

Seattle University School of Law, Room 110
8:30 AM – 4:15 PM
July 9, 2013

Much research and attention has been directed towards reform in juvenile justice. Private foundations and government have poured millions of dollars into research and initiatives focused on reducing juvenile detention populations, addressing substance abuse and mental health needs of juvenile offenders, reducing disproportionate representation of youth of color, and improving reentry and transitions from incarceration to community. In Washington, we have made tremendous efforts to learn about new developments in law and science and use this information and data to make improvements in our justice system.

This conference came about through collaboration among TeamChild, the King County Prosecutor's Office and Seattle University law school.  Georgetown Professor Kristin Henning spurred the group to develop this CLE with her article on CRIMINALIZING NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR: THE ROLE OF PROSECUTORS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM.

We are thrilled to bring Professor Henning to Washington to talk about her work. In addition to Professor Henning, the presenters include Whitney Tymas, the Director of the Prosecution and Racial Justice Program at the Vera Institute for Justice, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, State Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez, State Representative Cyrus Habib, Attorney Jeff Robinson, and Carrie Cihak the Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives in the King County Executive’s Office.  There will also be a presentation featuring the 180 program, an innovative project of the King County Prosecutor’s office.

We hope the CLE will be a very interesting and innovative program that can inspire creative, bold and collaborative approaches to realizing a vision of justice that goes beyond individual roles as prosecutors, defenders and judges.  

We appreciate the sponsorship of the King County Prosecutor’s office, Seattle University School of Law, the Washington Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice, and the Supreme Court’s Minority and Justice Commission.

Program