St. Louis justice system biased against black children, U.S. probe finds

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

The family court system in St. Louis, Missouri, has racially discriminated against black juveniles, denying children their constitutional rights as they navigate court proceedings, a nearly two-year-long federal investigation has found.

The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing report Friday, saying the Family Court of St. Louis County discriminates routinely against black children in a variety of ways.

The court has failed to ensure the youth have adequate legal representation, failed to make sure there is probable cause that the children committed offenses they were accused of, and failed to ensure that guilty pleas by black children are entered voluntarily, the Justice Department said.

"The findings we issue today are serious and compelling," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/31/us-missouri-court-children-idUSKCN0Q51OZ20150731

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US | Fri Jul 31, 2015 10:28am EDT
BY CAREY GILLAM

[underpants]

1. Thank goodness it's only St. Louis

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. I've worked with Vanita Gupta. There couldn't be a better person to run the civil rights division.

[Android3.14]

3. Now is the time to start putting some teeth into the possible reforms

Remove the judges, replace the personnel. It's time to rip this cancer out.

[Taitertots]

4. You can tell they are serious about reform because they made so many arrests...

Oh wait... They released a report outlining a pattern of systemic criminal behavior without a single indictment.