MARYLAND DEFENDER’S OFFICE RALLIES AGAINST AUTOMATICALLY CHARGING MINORS AS ADULTS

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender rallied on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis against automatically charging minors as adults. The OPD says the automatic charging process disproportionately impacts Black and Brown children. The OPD says Black children make up 31-percent of Maryland’s population, but they represent 81-percent of the minors who are charged as adults. During a Thursday press conference, the OPD’s Regional Director of Youth Defense said juveniles who start in the adult system can be unnecessarily traumatized, especially if they’re found not guilty. Robin Salter says the OPD believes the charging process for minors should begin in juvenile court.