Judges get earful on judicial system

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A panel of D.C. judges yesterday fielded suggestions and a flurry of complaints from residents in Northeast at a morning forum on how to improve the city's judicial system.

A few dozen residents were sprinkled throughout the auditorium at Kelly Miller Middle School for the town hall meeting, which was hosted by the 6th District Citizens Advisory Council.

The panel -- made up of three judges -- briefly addressed the residents about the system's two community courts before a question-and-answer period. But the discussion quickly devolved into residents venting about other community-based quality-of-life issues, ranging from reducing recidivism to rampant truancy.

Rosa Hamlett, an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the area, said her 14-year-old neighbor has been suspended from four different schools and currently isn't attending any.

"Another child without supervision, without schooling," Miss Hamlett said. "What can be done, while they're juveniles, before they get caught doing something improper?"

Family Court Judge William M. Jackson said that action should be taken, but that there isn't much the courts can do in many cases except in instances of extreme parental neglect.

"It doesn't make any sense for us just to arrest them and lock them up as kids, and then just wait for them to get old enough to move to the adult side," Judge Jackson said. "Our goal is to stop it now, to intervene ... before they're charged with a serious offense."

Annette Cherry, a Ward 7 resident who attended the forum with her young grandson, complained of poor treatment from courthouse officials.

"I'm not rich; I'm not middle class," she said. "I'm a retired grandmother, and I'm not coming in with my spiked heels, my long nails and my well-done hair. I'm coming in because I have business there. I feel as if I'm being judged on my appearance. When they greet you when you walk through the door as if you've done something wrong by asking them a question, I really resent that."

Darlene Williams, a Deanwood resident, walked out midway through the forum, upset at what she said was the panel's failure to properly acknowledge how much race factors into justice.