HOPE - Prospective Students
Margaret Mead
THE MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S JUVENILE DIVISION RECEIVED THE 2008 JUDGE HUGH GLICKSTEIN AWARD AT FLORIDA BAR CONVENTION
Marni Lennon, Kevin Probst and Sophia Montenegro (of the Public Defender’s Office)
Kevin Probst '07 congratulates Miami-Dade's public defender, Carlos Martinez at the Florida Bar convention presentation of the Glickstein Award. The Office of the Public Defender received the award for it's outstanding efforts to terminate unnecessary shackling of youth.
Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis presented the Juvenile Division of the Miami-Dade County Public Defender's Office with the Hugh S. Glickstein Award for Child Advocacy for its work on behalf of Florida's children.
Awarded annually on a statewide basis, the Hugh Glickstein Award is given to a child advocate judged as "tireless" by the Legal Needs of Children Committee of The Florida Bar's Public Interest Law Section.
"This award is being given collectively to the Juvenile Division of the Miami-Dade County Public Defender's Office for its innovative efforts to protect the rights, health, welfare and safety of Florida's youth," said Committee Chairwoman Tracey K. McPharlin. She cited the work of Chief Assistant Public Defender Carlos Martinez, JD ’90, and the Juvenile and Appellate Divisions, including Marie Osborne, Kevin Hellmann, Tamara Gray, Andy Stanton, Shannon McKenna, JD ’00, and Valerie Jonas.
The Division's most noted accomplishments include:
- Successfully challenging indiscriminate shackling in Miami-Dade's juvenile courtrooms. - Launching the Juvenile Justice CPR (Charting the Path to Redemption) Initiative, a broad-based legal reform to improve the juvenile justice system. - Holding town hall meetings in Miami-Dade to eliminate the schoolhouse-to-jailhouse pipeline. - Informing teens through "Play It Smart" presentations about their legal rights and how to interact effectively with law enforcement, and through the "Consequences Aren't Minor" prevention program dealing with the consequences of an arrest or adjudication. - Establishing a specialized defense unit to advocate for children charged as adults. - Creating the Consequences Fact Sheet for juveniles. |
The HOPE Public Interest Resource Center proudly partners with the Public Defender’s Office on these and other initiatives to reform the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Please email umhope@law.miami.edu for more information about future volunteer opportunities.
