Rutherford county juvenile court judge

Rutherford County is suing its insurance provider for refusing to cover its settlement in a large class action lawsuit over its unlawful policies for arresting and detaining children. The county was sued over its juvenile court polices, which led to more than a thousand children being illegally arrested and jailed.

Donna Scott Davenport born Scott is the first judge to have overseen the Rutherford County, Tennessee juvenile justice system, filling the newly created position in She presided over the juvenile court and legal system for the county, appointed magistrates formerly, referees , set protocols, directed police and heard cases involving minors, including parents charged with child neglect. She subsequently received bachelor's, then master's degrees in criminal justice from MTSU , followed by a J. She wrote the Tennessee State bar exam about a year after graduation. After failing the exam four times, Davenport passed in , on her fifth attempt, [1] then began teaching as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at MTSU the following year. Davenport was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in , nine years after receiving a law degree. She left the law firm and became a full-time court referee in

Rutherford county juvenile court judge

A bill seeks to regulate the arrests of juveniles after former Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport, in green judicial robes, came under fire in for the detention of more than a thousand children. Photo: RutherfordCountyTN. Mike Sparks is pushing legislation he believes would have stopped the aggressive lockup of children. Sparks, a Smyrna Republican, is preparing legislation prohibiting interviews or interrogations of children without the presence of legal counsel, parent, guardian or custodian. In addition, children would be told of their constitutional rights to legal representation when taken into custody, and a video recording of any interviews would be made. Whether such legislation would have prevented the lawsuit is difficult to predict because the policy that led to arrests had been in effect since But it might have lessened the impact. The Murfreesboro Post reported on the matter extensively in , as well as the lawsuits. Democratic lawmakers also were prepared last January to pass legislation removing her from the bench. Davenport opted to retire in July rather than seek re-election and was replaced by Murfreesboro attorney Travis Lampley, who won the August election. They were charged with facilitating an assault, even though such a charge did not exist. For instance, if a child is caught skipping school and picked up by authorities for petty theft, the youth should be apprised of his right to have an attorney or his parents present, but the youngster might not know whom to call or his parents might not be able to get off work. The proper routine would be to issue the child a summons for the offense ordering the youth to court at a later date, South says. Sparks, nevertheless, points out that as of , two dozen states required police to allow parents to be informed and present during interrogations of their children and 19 states required those interrogations to be recorded. He also notes that Tennessee has no minimum age for the arrest or questioning of a child by police and that no guidelines exist to ensure children understand they have the same right to an attorney as an adult.

Retrieved June 23, Retrieved July 20,

For two decades, Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversaw the illegal arrests and detentions of more than a thousand children in her Rutherford County courtroom. Her actions eventually caught up with her — the county settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and an investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica brought to light what had been happening for years, unchecked. Lawmakers called for her ousting, the governor asked for a review and Middle Tennessee State University cut ties with the judge. There were nationwide calls for reform. Almost Nothing Happened to the Adults in Charge.

The juvenile justice system and jail of Rutherford County, Tennessee became a subject of state-wide, [1] [2] [3] [4] national [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] and international controversy [10] [11] [12] [13] in the s, when a journalistic investigation revealed a pattern of abnormal and illegal incarceration of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children in the county's juvenile jail at a rate ten times the state's average. The post was filled by then-Democrat later Republican elected Judge Donna Scott Davenport , [5] [9] who was scheduled to and did retire at the end of her eight-year term, in August In , Judge Davenport issued a memo which was interpreted to order that, after a summons is issued, law enforcement officers must always physically arrest the child, and take them to the county's detention center—despite Tennessee state law which requires that, for many juvenile misdemeanor offenses, police officers must release children with a citation or a summons, and not take them into custody. By April , county authorities were reporting 2, children booked into the jail annually— to of them from neighboring counties lacking facilities. In a promotional video, the county indicated that over 20 Tennessee counties had contracted with Rutherford's juvenile jail.

Rutherford county juvenile court judge

Eleven children were charged with a crime that doesn't exist, the attorney said. There is renewed criticism of a juvenile court judge in Rutherford County, Tennessee, following a joint ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio report that alleges Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversaw a juvenile justice system where Black children were disproportionally and illegally hit with criminal charges. The investigation centers around a incident where 11 Black children, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, were allegedly arrested for not stopping a fight captured on video. Ten of the children were charged with "criminal responsibility for conduct of another. Frank Ross Brazil, an attorney who represented several of the children, told ABC News that criminal responsibility is a prosecutorial theory and not a charge under Tennessee law. The ProPublica report detailed systems set up by Davenport, which allegedly lead to the improper arrest and detention of children.

Tent house for kids

In January , Davenport announced plans to retire at the end of her term, in September , remaining on the bench until that time. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. State Rep. He was not present at Monday's news conference. Mother of incarcerated year-old speaks out: Police 'came to my house like my son was a fugitive'. Judge of county juvenile justice system that was subject of Pulitzer-nominated expose'. That responsibility was taken away from the judge after what happened. Retrieved October 18, Facebook Twitter Email. The effort, opposed widely by the judicial community, failed. There are situations and circumstances that justify the actions that are being sought. Facebook Twitter Email.

Donna Scott Davenport born Scott is the first judge to have overseen the Rutherford County, Tennessee juvenile justice system, filling the newly created position in She presided over the juvenile court and legal system for the county, appointed magistrates formerly, referees , set protocols, directed police and heard cases involving minors, including parents charged with child neglect. She subsequently received bachelor's, then master's degrees in criminal justice from MTSU , followed by a J.

A yard sign supports Rutherford County juvenile judge candidate Travis Lampley. Thousands of others, however, may have been impacted dating back to when the county established Juvenile Detention services. Betsy Phillips, Nashville Scene , November 1, We worked hard, but ultimately fell short numerically of our goals. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville. Her current term expires in September What this means, for now, is that Rutherford County has used taxpayer money to foot the bill for the settlement, when it expected to be covered by insurance. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. In January , Davenport announced plans to retire at the end of her term, in September , remaining on the bench until that time. In a recent WGNS radio forum , he was asked how he would rebuild trust. And 11 members of Congress signed a letter asking the U.