Evening star., 1953-11-13
Juvenile Court
Advisers Back
.JudgeCockri||
Six-Point Statement
Upholds Policies
On DeIinquents

The Juvenile Court Advisory
Committee is backing Juvenile
Court Judge Edith Cockrill all
the way down the line in her
court policies and is defending
her against recent criticism.
In a Six-point statement issued
after a three-hour secret meet
ing with Judge Cockrill, the COM
mittee declared:
/. It's up to Welfare Director
Gerard M. Shea to start asking
for information regarding non
support cases.
2. No registry of delinquentS'
names should be set up outside
Of the Juvenile Court.
3. The court should not pro-
vide advance information on all
cases likely to be committed to
the Welfare Department.
4. Further waving of juris-
diction by the Juvenile Court to
the criminal courts would not
be justified.
Must Weigh Disclosures.
5. Although the Juvenile Court
is interested in re-examining its
policies, any disclosure of dispo-
sition of juvenile cases must
be carefully considered and any
further step should be taken in
the light of the purposes and use
of the information and the safe
guards which would be provided.
6. The court and the commit
tee stand ready to work with all
public and private agencies in
so far as each agency concerned
may be better able to carry out
"its unique responsibility to the
community" as in the past.
All six points seem to add up
to continuation of the present
Juvenile Court policies.
The committee pointed out
that the court and Board of
Public Welfare came to an agree
ment some months ago as to a
trial procedure by which the
board could adjust grants to
mothers in accordance with the
actual disposition of the prose-
cutlons against the non-support-
ing fathers.
The court. according to Mr..
Shea. refused to inform the
board of the sums actually COL
lected from the delinquent par
ent.
No List Submitted.
Upon this agreed procedure,
the Board of Public Welfare is
to provide the Juvenile Court
with a list of those cases upon
which such information is de-
Sired" the committee recalled.
Despite the fact this agreement
was achieved several months ago.
to date no list has been SUBJ
mitted to the Juvenile Court.
The committee, headed by
Canon Richard Williams of the
Washington Cathedral, declared
it backs Judge Cockrill'S position
that no registry of names should
be set up outside the protection
set forth in the Juvenile Court
law" 1t indorsed District Com
missioner Samuel Spencer's plan
to establish a complete count of
juvenile offenders for statistical
analysis, study and community
planning only.
The committee declared that
the Public Welfare Departments
desire for advance social infor-
nation on cases likely to be
committed to it would be "con-
trary to law as well as unsound
and impractical.
1t pointed out that "the court
could not maintain that it had
heard all the facts with an open
mind, if steps were taken in ad-
vance to effect placement out
side the child's own home" and
said that the law definitely pro-
vides that a summary of it's in
formation concerning each child
shall be transmitted with the or
der Of commitment.
Regarding an increase of the
Juvenile Courts practice of oc-
casionally waving it's jurisdic-
tion to the criminal. courts in
serious cases, the committee also
turned thumbs down.
The group declared that often
children committed to an insti-
tuition by the Juvenile Court
may. if their rehabilitation re-
quires, be held much longer than
they could have been had they
been sentenced by a criminal
noI1rf