21-03-2025
Memphis Juvenile Court seeks new courtroom to reduce delays
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Juvenile Court is working to create a dedicated courtroom in response to bill SB718/HB797, legislation aiming to create a dedicated courtroom near the juvenile detention center.
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According to a Juvenile Court press release on Thursday, since the court's building closed due to environmental concerns in April 2024, Judge Tarik Sugarmon and the Magistrates have been using the Youth Justice and Education Center (YJEC) for multiple daily dockets. This move was made to maintain operations and avoid delays in hearing cases involving youth in detention.
Juvenile Court said that leaders emphasize that while YJEC has served as a temporary solution, a more effective and sustainable model involves resuming transportation of detained youth to Juvenile Court at 616 Adams Avenue.
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They said that this will allow the court to increase capacity, reduce delays, and ensure more cases can be heard on a daily basis.
Juvenile Court said a dedicated courtroom does not resolve critical issues, such as the extended length of youth stays in detention and delays in adjudication due to the limited number of cases that can be heard per day or capacity limitations at YJEC.
The court said transportation of detained youth to Juvenile Court would alleviate capacity issues, allow for more hearings, timely resolution of cases for all parties, and ultimately improve the outcomes for the youth and families served.
Since April 29, 2024, the Juvenile Court has had over 3,100 cases have been heard at YJEC. According to Juvenile Court, the single courtroom at YJEC only allows 32 docket slots compared to the 110 slots available at the Juvenile Court.
Juvenile Court said that because of time constraints, the morning transfer docket is frequently continued to another day to accommodate the detention and delinquency dockets.
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The bill is scheduled for a vote next week in the House Judiciary Committee, the Juvenile Court is moving forward with efforts to share these concerns with the public.
Judge Sugarmon will be holding a news conference on the matter on Monday, Mar. 24, at 1:00 PM outside of the YJEC, located at 3420 Old Getwell Rd, Memphis, TN 38118.
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