NCJ Number
126822
Date Published
1990
Length
55 pages
Annotation
Coleman v. Stanziani was filed in 1981 as a Federal court class action challenging the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Act's provisions on secure juvenile detention.
Abstract
The plaintiffs were two juveniles who were arrested in a stolen car and held in secure detention pending their adjudicatory hearings. They complained that Pennsylvania law was unduly vague and arbitrarily applied. The defendants were Pennsylvania juvenile court judges and juvenile probation officers. In 1981, when Coleman was filed, 25 percent of all juvenile court dispositions involved the use of secure detention. In 1982, the percentage was 12 percent, in 1984 13 percent, and in 1987, after the Coleman settlement, 10 percent. In April 1986, the Federal district court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania approved the Coleman consent decree which controls admission to secure detention in every Pennsylvania county except Philadelphia. The decree requires judges and juvenile probation officers to give a statement of reasons for pretrial decisions to use secure detention and to consider the use of less restrictive alternatives. Further, the decree prohibits the use of secure detention solely because of an absent parent or guardian. Key to the court decision is the requirement of a statement of reasons for detention and an examination of alternatives to detention in every case prior to adjudication. Also significant is the requirement for judicial review every 10 days for children remaining in detention. Additional information is appended on juvenile detention standards and juvenile admissions. 8 tables and 14 figures