'U' holds juvenile justice symposium By Caitlin Nish Daily Staff Reporter Several weeks after the conviction of the nation's youngest murder defendant ever to be tried as an adult, the University's Criminal Law Society sponsored a symposium on juvenile justice Friday at the Law School. According to material published by the society, the symposium was "a day of interdisciplinary discussion with commentators and practitioners on solutions to the legal and sociological problems inherent in juvenile crime." The symposium began with introductory remarks by Daniel Bagdade, the co-counsel for Nathaniel Abraham, a 13-year-old recently sentenced for a murder he committed at age 11 in Detroit. Symposium participant Michelle Molitor said she wanted to hear about the issues surrounding the Abraham case after working with the Michigan Senate Democratic Committee. "Some of the issues around trying and sentencing juveniles as adults are really timely in Michigan because we are one of a lot of states to give the option of trying juveniles in adult court," Molitor said. "The Nathaniel Abraham story has been given incredible press." The second event of the day consisted of a panel discussion titled "Police Interviewing Techniques of Juveniles." A panel composed of professors and police officials spoke of the rights of young suspects and the struggles interviewers face when interviewing juvenile suspects. A second panel titled "Trying Minors as Adults" explored state waiver provision allowing juveniles to be tried as adults and data on those provisions and their impacts. The topic of trying juveniles in adult courts was one that attracted many symposium goers. Mark Lambert, executive director of the Goodwill Farm Association - a residential treatment facility for juveniles, said it was the issue of juveniles being tried as adults that brought him to hear the panel discussions. "I'm looking for more discussion on what we're not doing before kids end up in court. What I liked, and I know this is a university, is that it seems there is a sentiment away from trying kids as adults," Lambert said. Following the panel discussions, University Law Prof. Donald Duquette and Michigan Sen. William Van Regenmorter (R-Hudsonville) spoke during a debate about trying minors as adults. The symposium reconvened with a panel discussion on juvenile detention and juvenile detention facilities. Participants in this discussion were Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C.; Larry Miesner, director of the Office of Juvenile Justice in Lansing, Jerome Miller of the National Center on Institutions & Alternatives and University Institute for Social Research Prof. Rosemary Sarri. "I just graduated from the School of Social Work and I am interested in programs for juvenile delinquents. I thought it would be good to get as much information as I can," said Karen Wolownik. Symposium co-coordinator Kelly O'Donnell said that about 150 people turned out for the day's events. "It took a lot of time and effort but the response we received from people who worked in the field was astounding," said co-coordinator Sarah Riley. Originally on page 3A in the 1-31-2000 issue of the Daily.