PRECIOUS RESOURCES CAUGHT IN A PIPELINE NEWS


A. C Wharton, Mayor	Jerry W. Maness

Precious Resources Crew Interviews Memphis Mayor and Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County

Reporter, Otis L.Sanford, for The Commercial Appeal (Memphis Newspaper) reported in July, 2010 that leaders, Mayor A.C. Wharton Jr. and Juvenile Court Judge Person, "made public a practice that had been quietly going on in the city for the past few months. Police have been issuing more summonses to juveniles accused of minor offenses instead of hauling them Downtown in the back of a squad car to the detention facility at Juvenile Court." Due to news of these efforts interviews were scheduled this summer with Mayor A. C. Wharton and Judge Person of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County to discuss their new policy and practice.

The Memphis collaboration represents the first steps of a progressive and positive approach in Juvenile Justice and the reduction of the criminalization of young people. Precious Resources Crew M. Wayne Dyer, Barbara H. Dyer, and Carrie Dyer, conducted interviews with Jerry W. Maness, Director of Court Services Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County on July 27 th and with A. C. Wharton Jr., Mayor of Memphis, Tennessee on July 30th.

This film seeks answers to questions through investigation and interviews with notable attorneys, advocates, educational and school psychologists, school officials, teachers, and children and parents effected by the pipeline. It is important to define the scope of the interviews to include communities from small towns and rural areas, to medium sized cities and urban areas.

Interview of Bernardine Dohrn, J.D. Clinical Professor, Child Advocate, Children and Family Justice Center of Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, IL

Ms. Dohrn, Nationally known advocate for childrens rights was interviewed while speaking the at Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline: The Continued Criminalization of Our Youth/ Strategies for Systemic Change Conference sponsored by Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, (TACDL) Nashville School of Law, Nashville, TN.

Randee J. Waldman, J.D.
Director, Barton Juvenile Defender Clinic Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA

Ms. Waldman supervises law and social work students in their representation of young people charged with delinquent and status offenses, engages in policy work related to juvenile justice issues, and teaches a course in juvenile justice. Earlier Ms. Waldman spent over five years as a Senior Attorney at Advocates for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring quality and equal public education services for New York City's most vulnerable students. While at AFC, Ms. Waldman represented parents and students at all levels of administrative proceedings to obtain appropriate special education services for students with disabilities, represented students in student discipline cases, served as co-counsel in several impact litigation cases in federal court, and directed the pro bono and law student intern programs.