Juvenile Injustice in Wyoming

Source: (2004) Wyoming Law Review. 4: 669-722.

John Burman begins this paper by approvingly citing an admonition written about twenty five years earlier by someone else; namely, that if the Wyoming juvenile court system is to be successful, it will require a single, uniform system of courts with uniform rules and regulations. The admonition still pertains, Burman asserts. Wyoming’s juvenile justice system continues to suffer the same problems and deficiencies. From this perspective, Burman contends for changes in the system to make it effective and just. To make his argument, he first provides an overview of the current juvenile justice system in Wyoming. Then he looks more specifically at the treatment of juveniles in Wyoming’s circuit, municipal, and drug courts. This leads to discussion of general principles of juvenile law, juvenile detention, and options for enhancing juvenile justice. In particular he advocates for family courts to improve Wyoming’s juvenile justice system.