Latest news with #TarikSugarmon
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge Sugarmon pushes back against Sen. Taylor's juvenile detention center bill
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There's pushback Monday on a bill that would move juvenile hearings into the Youth Justice and Education Center where juveniles are detained. Republican State Senator Brent Taylor who authored the bill said that the move will save taxpayers money from having to transport detainees downtown for hearings. However, Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon said it would create problems. Not far from the Memphis Airport, there's a new detention facility for young offenders in Shelby County. 'Inside that detention facility is a courtroom and unfortunately, that courtroom is as closed as a Chick-fil-A on Sunday,' Taylor said. ' So, what my bill will do will require the juvenile judge to come to the juvenile detention facility and have those hearings at the detention facility.' But, Judge Tarik Sugarmon said hearings are happening in the courtroom. Mississippi governor poised to sign income tax elimination; Hernando ready for impact According to him, since April of 2024, more than 3,100 cases have been heard at the Youth Justice and Education Center. Judge Sugarmon said the courtroom at the facility was only designed to handle certain types of cases. 'It was not designed for delinquency cases,' Sugarmon said. 'It was not designed for transfer hearings. It was not designed for any purpose other than to handle detention cases.' Problems started back in the Spring of 2024 after an inspection of the juvenile court building at 616 Adams led to the discovery of mold and asbestos. 'It's one hurdle we face after another,' Sugarmon said. Judge Sugarmon said 616 Adams can handle 110 docket cases a week in comparison to 32 at the detention facility. He added that he is working out the deal with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris when it comes to transporting young people the 14 miles to the courtrooms closer to downtown. Juvenile charged with reckless homicide in TN shooting 'We're looking to get back into 616, what are we doing about that? The mayor and I of the county are working on an MOU that will alleviate the Sheriff's maintenance of this facility sometime this fall,' Sugarmon said. 'We are close to coming up with an MOU and at that point, Shelby County Corrections will take over the management of this building.' He said taxpayers' money isn't being wasted but cases need to be held in an expedited manner. 'These youth cost money to detain here but it also is a harm to these kids. It's harder to rehabilitate a child the longer they stay detained. The statistics and research shows that,' Sugarmon said. 'But we don't need an impediment to our ability to handle these cases in an expedited manner, not only for the youth that are detained here but also for the victims who deserve to have some closure to their cases.' Senator Taylor's bill only applies to Shelby County. It's expected to be heard again by lawmakers this week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Yahoo
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. SB718/HB797Download 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. $2 million bond set for man facing robbery, murder charge 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. TN man charged with multiple sex crimes involving child, animals 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
