Kids Behind Bars Then & Now - Morris's Story and 2023 Update

did you have any problems with him no other than he gave me the wrong name and you're not going to charge him with false you've done that before Morris you have already had charges of lying to police officers it's better to be honest so he was in somebody's apartment or just on the vicinity of the apartment him and several of his friends were out smoking marijuana on the front porch of this of the clo apartment complex okay are you high right now were you smoking marijuana today no he tells me he wasn't smoking there was about 709 I'm just going to have the nurse look at him real quick to determine that he's not under the influence they found him today because he was smoking marijuana with his friends and they ran all their names at first Morris was lying about his identity cuz he knew he had a warrant you didn't take any drugs why your eyes like that I all slanty and red they're R we're going to need medical clearance we can't accept him like this she believed that he was under the influence of marijuana all right we'll be back thank you so prior to him being admitted to our facility he will require a medical clearance so maraville Police Department is taking him to the hospital where they're going to conduct a drug [Music] test so positive for y marijuana but we knew that was going to mhm do you feel any of the effects of marijuana still no he was released off a house arrest in April of this year and then he failed to come to his court date in July so he didn't appear in court his mother did his counselors did his probation officer did but Morris was on runaway status why didn't you go to court on the 24th but everybody else did I'm scared you were scared did you get a chance talk to your probation officer prior to going to court my probation officer he was talking about sending the place when I was like no that's why I go to court cuz they say they going to send me the placement for two years commitment to the Department of Corrections is the harshest punishment there is many of the kids that pass through lcjc are committed to placement facilities facilities that are equipped to rehabilitate them and help them get treatment for whatever issues may have led them down the path of trouble in the first place I can't even control my anger I've been angry all my life last time I was here cuz me and my mom got into it and I punched a hole in the wall but it makes it worse when you don't appear in court now you presented yourself as a Flight Risk you understand that you just make it worse for yourself if you run away from your problems and I remember back like five years ago my grandma told me you keep frowning your face going to be stuck like that I think she want man the last time Morris was arrested it was for damaging his mother's home in a fit of rage when he didn't show up for a subsequent court hearing a bench warrant was issued yesterday he was picked up on that warrant and now he'll have to face the judge but first he'll have to face his mother can get out tomorrow I don't know do you think you should why I know you didn't do anything you didn't go to court I know I was scared you were scared CU they said I was going to give me 2 years of play you should have just gone to court I'm going to court now mhm you don't have a choice they told me they took you to the hospital you test positive for marijuana so you've been smoking huh going know you don't know what you smoking that for I thought that was going to help some stress you feel like you need something to calm you down now then that's what you should have been telling the counselor and the therapist if that's how you feel this is what I'm talking about the things you're telling me you need to tell them you may have a chemical imbalance who knows there's medicine for that and people are not crazy who take it I told people they Ain going to help how do you know you keep going with the negative trend of thought what makes you so what makes you get angry like that people do even when people don't do when things don't go your way you stay angry that's what I'm saying being in head going to make it worse and worse so I can feel it right now you keep telling yourself it's going to get worse than it is I keep punching walls now punching it for what have you been praying why you crying I'm C you what I know I'm crazy you feel like you going crazy I know I'm crazy you are not I hate to see you like this who do you want me to bring the court nobody just me can I tell you something I love you to to death but you do need some help with your anger some professional help and I don't think you're crazy but I think something inside is bothering you what you think you want to be with my family you want to be with your family then you going to be with your family wherever you go we coming and if they send you far we com in there too okay it feel different when I cry I a cry WR time it's good to cry sometime to relieve stress it's nothing wrong to cry it's nothing wrong H looking for Morris where is he at first okay great Morris [Music] yep hey Morris how are you Don Ruck I'll be your lawyer for today let me talk to you for a second can we sit down here great all right you've been down this road before right okay um today's hearing the Court's going to want to hear a little bit about uh what happened they're going to want to make a decision whether or not to release you today what do you want to have happen I want to get relief okay um I think your mom's here what do you think she's going to say she going to say she want me to come home okay well that's all right did you test positive for marijuana and you came in M you did yeah all right um the Court's going to ask you why you were using using marijuana do you know what how you'd answer that yeah tell them I was in a car with people they was smoking on marijuana let me hit it I ain't going to lie about it and that was it I ain't no big smoker like that all right what about this isn't your first time here like we said right okay one of the concerns that Court's going to have is the uh if the judge releases you today that you're going to end up doing the same thing all over again um tell me about some of the things that you're involved in or some of the things that we can um talk to the court that'll convince her that it's right to let you home what do you what do you do other than um go home and sleep you involved in any activity house you in school wash clothes yeah go to school you're 16 right 16 how are your grades in school cver you ever been expelled yeah I've been expelled how many times one time for what think for fighting me for fighting when when was that like seventh grade seventh grade mhm now I'll tell you one of the things that I note is that the probation Department's recommending that you stay locked up all right so we're going to have to um you know really we have our work cut out for us our work cut out for us um what are your plans through life go to school get my educ finish school first right finish school get my education go to college okay what do you want to do real estate all right you live with your mom yes anybody else live in the house with you my two sisters my little brother and her boyfriend where's your dad he stay at Griffin do you see him often yes how often not like that but probably every two weeks okay does he know you're here yeah he do she told me when she visit me okay is is he okay with you being here or does he think you should come home too yeah he think I should come home him and my grandma everybody do they don't even want me in here okay how long have you been here since Saturday okay last time you were here how long did you stay here a week and a day a day I just want to go home what um the judge let you go home um you going to be able to tell her that you're not going to do anything that's going to bring you back here mhm yes M anything else you can tell me that you think might help us out 41 tell her she can give me house arrest you want house arrest M you want to be on house arrest to be on house arest why would you want to be a house arest usually had somebody that so I can get my stuff together so so I can prove that I'm a good kid so I won't be out say smoking marijuana even if I do get out I'm not going to smoke marijuana no more or cigarettes do you think you're addicted to marijuana mm-m you addicted to cigarettes mm all right so you can stop if you want to M yes yes okay need you just make sure you speak nice and loud you all the lady told me too she like when I people speak loud yeah yeah um okay so let me get this St you want to be on house arrest yes you want the judge to release you from detention but place you on house arrest meaning you're going have an angle bracelet yeah and restrictions on when and where you where you can go yes why do you think you need to be on house arrest so I can prove that I'm not going to mess up no more I'm not going to smoke not going to miss school I don't miss school not going to miss counseling so they could just know where I'm at at home or at school or with my counselor or my probational one of the things that's useful in my experience is to come to the court and say yes I did wrong and I need help with certain things kind of like what you're do all right what types of things do you think you need help with apart from being on house arrest you might mention counseling anger okay your anger tell me about your anger I got a temper problem angle problem give me an example of like stuff like like we be at the house and my mom made me mad I hit the wall and you say hit the wall you're talking about tapping it or you talking about punch letting lose you ever hurt yourself doing that you ever hurt the wall okay so there's marks in the wall from you mhm wall in the house downstairs have you ever got any help for that well counseling AER management but when they a do the anger manag me yet I just had counsel okay well here's the question you already had anger management you've already had counseling why isn't it helped I don't know my mama said she think I probably need some medicine I don't know do you think you do I think I do yeah when you get counseling does it help you a little bit it helped a little bit but not like that cuz they not solving the problem so what's the problem I just can't stop him stuff little stuff make me mad is that why you use drugs yeah that that help but I don't I don't do it just to be fitting in and making like um just to smoke it just fit in I'll just do it cuz it make me feel better you involved in any gangs no never been no ever tell anybody that you were no okay okay my friend well whatever the Court decides what I'm going to tell you is I don't want you reacting out loud in court the judge says you need to stay locked up and I want you getting angry punching the wall punching me jumping on the table none of that kind of stuff whatever it is we'll deal with it we'll move forward okay we'll do our best to present all the evidence that'll get you released but if not I want you to control yourself and be a man okay MH all right I'll see you in there in a few minutes take care nice me you all right nice meeting you too hang out here for a few minutes I'm going to talk so unlock police had to catch up with you could you know you had a court here didn't want come scared placement so you run away well I'm not I'm not going to I'm not going to recommend that you go home I'm going to try to see keep you standing here so we can work something out tell you it's not going to work sir okay come on something's going to work let's go back to you you're not going to run around like a chicken with your yeah you've been gone for almost a month no I would ask my mom she I come you Solly swear or affirm testimony you're about to give us the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God I do I please be seated your name man Angel and are you the child's mother yes ma all right um Mr Ruck were your clients was your client advised of his rights he was Judge does he understand what his rights are yes any questions about them none all right we're here this morning for a few reasons one of which is he was arrested on a bench warrant that was issued from this court um on July 24th magistrate Miller issued the warrant for failure to appear on a modification of his probation is that right that's correct judge in addition to that I understand that when he came into this Detention Facility he was um thought to be um high on marijuana and was in fact taken to the hospital to determine whether or not he was clear um or at least sober to stay in this facility and it was determined that he in fact tested positive for marijuana um this morning Mrs gzik do you have anything besides what I've just recited noif information for me also all right Mr Fleming is present the probation officer um Mr Ruck how do you want to proceed this morning you want to uh address the the issue of his bench warrant and why he failed to appear and then go into the modification or what's your pleasure that's fine judge and then I think we can then also address what the appropriate uh placement is moving forward for him okay go ahead have any Witnesses yes judge I would call Morris at this point to the stand all right Morris have a seat up here please going up tell us your name young man Morris bad Jr where do you live Morris $59.99 Grant Place who do you live there with my mother Angel Mo do you have any brothers or sisters my brothers and sisters alante Johnson Alana Johnson orori B okay does your father live there no where does he live he live in griffi okay Morris you were supposed to be in court back on July 24th do you remember that yes you weren't here in court on July 24th were you no why not cuz I was scared it was going to give me 2 years of placement you were scared yes why were you scared they were going to give me two years of placement well how did you think that not showing up for court was a better option than showing up for court I don't know did you know that a bench warrant would be issued for your arrest yes I do just want to go home get doe house arrest and and how was it that you thought that not coming to court would be a better way to keep you home I don't know okay well let me ask this question um is this something that's going to happen again no sir why not cuz I'm not when I if I get out I'm not going to do it no more I'm going go to court I'm going go to counseling and do what I got to do okay Morris what is the um the root of your problem do you believe anger anger problem you had told me that one of the things that you tend to do is punch holes in walls yes you also tell me that one of the things that you've been going through already is Anger Management correct yes do you believe that that's helped you yeah a little bit well what do you mean a little bit be more specific I I improve I don't argue with my mom no more or my little brothers and sisters I don't punch holes anymore I'm changing okay do you respect your mother yes do you think she'll say that yes Morris if the court were to releasee you today despite the fact that the reason you're here is because you didn't return to court when you were told to return to court how is it that you can assure us that the next time there's a court hearing that you'll be back I'll be back I'm I'm going show up the court she going to make sure I show up the court who my mom do you think that there that it would be appropriate to have the Court Place restrictions on you in terms of um where you can go and what you can do and who you can see why so can you say that again I don't understand well you had indicated before that one of the things that you thought was a problem for you was the influence of other people friends things like that that led you to smoke weed and that restrictions through either your mom or through the court would be something that you thought would help you is that what you told me yes okay what type of restrictions or rules would you like to have either the court or your mother put in place if you're released today I still don't understand do you think you should be on house arrest yes why so they can know what I'm doing know where I'm at and know where I'm going okay well why do you think that's necessary so I could just see where I'm at see like if I'm doing bad things or good things so I could just be at home so they can know where I'm at okay so Morris is what you're saying that you're willing to follow your mom's rules and the Court's order that you come back to court if necessary and to prove how genuine that is you're saying the court could even put an ankle bracelet on me correct yeah all right are you in school yeah where are you in school at R High what grade are you in sophomore okay how are your grades C average you failing any classes oh no I I got to go to school F when were you last in school in June okay when are you supposed to start school again Wednesday this Wednesday yes if you're released today if you're planed to to go to school yes judge it's all I have right now this is gz Morris when you didn't come to court on July 24th did your mother come yes mhm were you home when she left to come to court no where were you at I was outside outside where down the street up in Hickory when did you leave the home before July 24th I left on the 23rd okay did did you have your mom's permission to leave no did she tell you not to leave no have there been other times when you leave the home without your mom's permission yes how many other times have you done that well I don't do it often I just I can go outside when I want to go outside well are there times when you don't come home all night sometimes where do you go when you do that down the street like 5 houses down to my friend house do your mom always know where you're at yes does she want you down there yes she wants you down there no she don't she don't care have there been times when Mom said come home and you haven't done that no so if you leave the home and you're just gone your mother doesn't care yeah she care and you have her permission to be away from the home yes did your probation officer ever talk to you about that no no when you go to school do you go to school every day yes your attendance is perfect yes you're never missing without permission no is that what your school records show yes judge can I have a ref with my client go ahead okay to be honest okay I'm telling you she's got all the records from your school listen to the question answer it honestly don't make it worse thank you you're welcome anything else Mrs GIC uh no judge all right Mr rck Morris let me ask you a question and I know this is a environment that there's a lot of stress in here but I want to make sure that you understand the question and that you answer it truthfully okay are there times when your mother gives you rules about when you are supposed to be at home and you disobey those rules I you say that again are there ever times when your mother says don't go out overnight or come home at a certain time and you come home late yeah other times that that happens yes okay how often does that happen it happen often pretty often yes okay why Morris um does that happen I just can't stay in the house all day I just I can't stand still I got to go outside how is it morus then that the the court should listen to your word today that you're not going to uh run away and you're going to follow your mom's rules and you're going to follow the Court's rules when by your admission you have trouble doing that how can you assure everybody in here today that that's not going to happen again put the know house that's why you were saying you needed that yes okay Morris do you also need help with dealing with anger management yes do you want help dealing with anger management yes do you want help dealing with the um relationship between you and your mother and the authority that she exerts over you yes sir okay that's all I have judge anything else no judge all right thank you Morris you may have a seat next to your attorney next witness judge I would call uh Morris's mother Angel to the stand please it's a good job I know you kind of get off track you want to see the right answer tell the truth and we'll deal with it okay go ahead tell tell us your name please Angel Mosley Miss Mosley what is your relationship to this young man here Morris um I'm his mother okay and you heard him testify today correct yes um Angel were you in court on July 24th 2008 Yes was your son in court on July 24th 2008 no did he know he had to be there that day yes why wasn't he he was afraid that they were going to keep him for 2 years in placement until he was 18 someone told him that did you talk with him about that briefly um I didn't want to touch on it because I didn't want to get him shook up about it I just wanted him to come to court okay and when he didn't what were the circumstances surrounding his uh failure to appear that day um I didn't see him after that before then he would uh we never really had a major issue with curfew but after that court date I didn't see him other his brothers and sisters had seen him and um I believe he was sneaking into the house when I was at work but he was basically like a runaway so prior to July 24th were there ever any other times when Morris has had court dates or Court obligations that he's disappeared or failed to appear for never so you believe that the only reason he failed to appear on July 24th was his mistaken belief that if he showed up he'd go to jail until he was 18 correct um was that unusual type of behavior for him to disappear and not appear for a court take yes cuz he's never disappeared and not appear for court yes that was unusual does morrris have a problem with um Authority and respecting the rules of the house like he talked about um yeah has a problem with anger tell me about that um I don't know exactly what triggers it but he gets so frustrated with I believe himself um basically about education because he was behind and we didn't you know he had a learning disability um and we didn't find out until later and I believe it really really bothers him but but running is not the solution well he's 16 years old correct correct um a lot of 16y olds certainly have problems in school exactly um get angry yes but not a lot of them punch holes through walls yes so how is it with Morris that what needs to be done to help him um actually I don't know what needs to be done I I don't know what help do you think we can I really can't say I can't say what helps um we had a discussion yesterday when I visited him that's the first time I've seen him cry in about two years but as far as what helps I know that there is a problem and he does need some help does he recognize there's a problem yes he does yes why do you say that um we discuss it and he does admit that there is an anger problem yes do you think he has a drug problem I know that he does smoke as far as it's being a problem I can't say that I found out that he was smoking he hasn't come I haven't I can't say that I've seen him high you know or anything like that so where is his father he lives in Griffith okay is there a relationship between Morris and his father um his father tries Morris is at the age now kind of like he doesn't want to be bothered by his father Yes with with adults I believe it's he wants to do his own thing if the court were to decide that um Morris need not be locked up any longer would you be able to and willing to have him released to your custody I'm always willing but I just wonder if that's what's best for him always willing well do you think it's best to keep him locked up here no I don't because yesterday he expressed that it seems like the walls are closing in on him and that's just not a good feeling well let me ask you then the question because I'm not sure that you answered it okay are you in a position where you're willing to if the court releases him take him home them yes and do you think think that it's appropriate that he go home with you I'll try that's what you want to do I'll try you think home is the best place for him right now I can't say what the best place is for him I just know that there's a problem and he does need help I can say that I can't say what the best place is for him that's what I'm trying to get at cuz sometimes I ask the question you want to take your child home absolutely yes some people say absolutely not I mean I always I definitely want him to be home with me but I do know that there's a problem and he needs help I do know that so I can't say say where the best place is for him I don't think LC JC is the best place no I don't so he shouldn't stay here you're willing to do your best yes I am and you're asking for help yes I exactly that's all I have Mrs gz M Mosley when Morris didn't come home because he had a court date yes how long was he absent from home at that time what do you mean how long how many days did was he after after the 24th yes it was days um my other children told me they saw him I went to the place where they supposedly saw him at I was never able to get in touch with him other everybody saw him except me okay so you didn't know where he was at I wasn't sure no ma'am okay and he certainly didn't have have your permission no ma'am okay have there been other times when he's left the home without your permission and you didn't know where he was at leave yes but not spend the night no okay no he he never had a problem with curfew no and you've told Mr Rock several times that you feel that Morris needs some Services through the court some counseling or something yes did the court attempt to provide him with counseling in the past yes okay and didn't he actively have counseling in place during the last few months yes okay did he was he meeting with his counselor in July yes okay was that through circle around families I yes it um actually it was a couple services so it was two a a counselor therapist and two mentors how long has he been meeting with people from circle around families I want to say a month okay maybe it hasn't been 3 months okay did he meet with them in June yes I believe do you know Miss Sanchez Melissa Sanchez yes okay is that one of his counselors yes okay so if Melissa Sanchez having problem contacting your your son that's true or not true you said is she what would it be true or not true that Melissa Sanchez has had a problem contacting your son in the beginning yes she did but at the he met with her more than any of them okay right has she made a lot of contact to your home through telephone calls and Morris hasn't been available honestly she wasn't available either at the beginning she would say certain times she wouldn't make it how many times did that happen for sure it happened twice because I called off from work okay the beginning okay how many times did Miss Sanchez miss him make make an appointment with him and he wasn't available um I want to say two or three okay does he have a job no ma'am is he in school right now no so there would be no reason he should not be available exactly a couple times she came and she would call and I told her that she should just go ring the doorbell because he would be there and would be sleep okay and would he come to the door for her yes he liked her okay not the others okay I have no further questions judge anything else Mr Rock not of this witness judge thank you ma'am you may have a seat back there thank you Mrs gzik um I I'm wondering if you want to question Mr uh Fleming about uh the petition he filed a a modification petition on June 6th yes alleging that um Morris had been gone from the home since June 3rd which was the reason for his filing of the modification uh we didn't get into the to the actual details of the modification but perhaps he could um Enlighten the court about what his recommendations are today and whether or not um those are recommendations pending the modification hearing um or what exactly his recommendations are I was going to do that judge so Mr Fleming Mr Fleming please state your name for the record probation officer Gordon Fleming and your probation office officer for the Lake Superior Court Juvenile Division yes I am and as such are you assigned to uh supervise Morris bdet yes I am and how long have you been doing that uh he was placed on official probation on April the 4th of this year uh as part of his probation Mr Fleming was he ordered to uh attend counseling yes he was and was that counseling set up by the court yes it was what were the counseling services to be provided to Mr berett uh anger management family counseling individual counseling and who were those Services being provided by and those Services were being provided through circle around family okay and have you been keeping track of how that counseling's going yes I have what have you been told about his counseling the last report that I got that circle around family had seen him they reported that uh uh the counseling was going well when they were able to give him counseling there was an issue with uh him being available for counseling and the report that I received and I wrote my probation hearing officer's report was that uh on three occasions uh he was unavailable for counseling and that also uh he had failed to meet with his mentors and those issues revolved around him not being at home at the time okay and did circle around families indicate that they were attempting to contact him yes and were those conts successful uh no they weren't okay now you've heard uh talk about Morris not being at home when he's supposed to be what do you know about that well on June on June the 3D I received a phone call from his mother that uh he had uh left home and uh on June the 6th when I filed my petition for modification he had not returned home at that time okay I filed a modification we set the modif ification hearing the magistrate set the hearing for July the 24th and at that hearing he failed to appear Mr Fleming did you ever tell Morris that you were going to have him sent away to a placement for two years no okay do you know if anybody from the court ever told him that not to my knowledge okay did you ever hear magistrate Miller tell him that not to no he hasn't okay what would you like to see in the interm prior to a modification happen with Morris today I I would recommend to the court that he remains detained okay at to what goal until we have the modification and uh I had really at his modification recommended that he go on intensive probation but he's been gone for over around a month now that we're going to staff this for placement so you think that perhaps intensive probation will not be appro appropriate for him at time I I believe it's not appropriate for him I have no further questions for Mr Fleming Mr Rock how long have you been at this sir as a probation officer 11 years in that 11 years have you you seen a lot of kids who when they're given Services it takes them a while to adjust before they kind of get on board and start improving yes in some instances now with respect to Morris you had previously recommended that he undergo anger management and you would recommend did family counseling and counseling services correct what was the reason that you ordered those Services well this was based upon his case history which was the anger and most of the anger had happened within the household and with his mother and uh she was having a hard time controlling him and reasoning with him so he had problems following um rules of the household is that right at that time respecting Authority yes getting angry uh in response to Authority yes okay um so when did the counseling and when did the U anger management classes begin well I don't know the exact date uh when it begun it was ordered in April and of 2008 correct yes so we're talking about three or four months ago yes he missed three of the counseling sessions how many did he attend I'm not sure more than 10 no more than five uh I doubt that okay sir if I think I understand your testimony to be that because Morris is not uh as available or participating with these services to the extent that you think appropriate that he should just remain locked up well I'm basing that upon him running away from home his mother not knowing where he is his I personally have seen him with a older group of young men uh and I've put him in my my car and taking him home uh he has failed a couple of drug tests uh Morris has told me on several occasions that whatever I do is not going to work and I've explained to him that whatever I do I'm going to attempt to to help him well that's my point sir is isn't it a true taking a step back that the problems he's having that are leading you to recommend he remain detained not following through with the counseling or being difficult to get a hold of and not completing the Anchor management classes are more symptoms of the problem that caused you to order those services to begin with well not only that Morris is a type of young man and I've known him for a little while now when he gets an attitude he will just walk out of the house and his mother won't know where he is uh I truly believe Morris won't show up for his next hearing do you believe that with a court order today that tells Morris and based on what you heard Morris testify to today that he uh is going to avoid going through the therapy and the counseling that you said he needs you say he's going to avoid it do you think he'll avoid it well I really don't know if he will but he has avoided it on several occasions sir and I'm sorry finally isn't this just a case of a young man who's got some serious issues you recognize those you order the services and his rough start so to speak with the services is simply evidence of the problem that caused you to order those services to begin with why don't we let it let it work itself through some more let let's let this counseling take hold these U the anger management take hold before we say the answer is just to keep him locked up well that would be fine but Morris has tended to befriend some young men one for instance is across the street who was shot the other day in a drive by shooting and uh his associates and the young people that he's been associating with I believe it's safer for Morris to be here for us to work with Morris so now it's an issue of him being safe well that's one of the issues yes okay that's all I have judge anything else Mrs gz Mr Fleming just to reiterate though the the main issue is you fear that Morris won't be present for future hearings absolutely and that's based on his past uh Behavior absolutely I just have one question that doesn't have anything to do with this has he had a psychological evaluation yes he has it's been completed it's been completed no further questions judge thank you you may have a seatback there very good then uh this morning my um only decision is whether or not he should remain detained or release pending Staffing of his case before the probation department to determine what the next steps will be will he be released as originally recommended on intensive probation back at home with services or uh perhaps placed um depending on what the probation department recommends um what is your argument today sir about release or detention if you have any judge I mean again I I I think this is what came clear at the very end of the questioning of the probation officer this young man has a series of problems that were thankfully identified by this court and there was some recommendations that were put in place and some services that were ordered to deal with those problems 3 months ago those Services just began to address the very problem that led him to be non-compliant in part with those Services my guess is this isn't the first time we've seen somebody resist going to counseling and resist going to anger management um I think those are issues that need to be addressed through that process um nothing has changed dramatically that says now he's a Flight Risk um he's here today um I think by all intents and purposes he certainly understands what happened his mother understands what happened and the significance of it and I think he he understands that he needs to be back and more importantly this young man wants help he's 16 right now and if he doesn't get that help I think that you know that things can certainly unravel for him even more um what good will it do to keep him locked up at this point what additional good will that do um judge for those reasons I would um request that he be released today with the restrictions that he says he needs um this is a man with problems that need help this is a man who puts holes through the wall when um when when the going gets tough Mom's here to say that I think he's she's willing to at least do her best to um take him home today thank you Mrs gz judge there's several criteria the court has to assess uh in determining whether or not this young man should remain detained here today one is whether or not he's a danger to himself or the community certainly the testimony we've heard today would indicate that Morris is a danger to himself he's out on the street his mother doesn't know where he's at this is for days at a time he's not employed so I don't know how he's managing to remain out on the street he's using drugs he's testing positive for marijuana as he comes into the juvenile center Mr flemy testified that he's associating with people that seem to be very dangerous one friend was injured in a driveby shooting the other day uh certainly he is uh participating in actions which are endangering his life um the court also has to assess whether or not he's unlikely to appear for subsequent proceedings um by absenting himself from uh his hearing on July 24th uh 2008 he's proven that he is unlikely to appear for subsequent proceedings he knew he had to come to court his mother told him he had to come to court uh there's some story he was afraid that he was going to be locked up for two years but nobody from the court told him that so I'm I'm not real sure about that story either that's Morris's reason for not coming I'm not so sure that that's true uh because Morris has a tendency not to tell the truth about a lot of things uh for the very reasons uh cited by Mr Fleming I would ask that he remained detained all right um Mr Fleming how often does your department staff cases on an individual basis or do you have a certain date each week or each month that you do that each week on Mondays each week on Mondays so if I order that you staff this case it will be done uh Monday the 25th okay um after listening to all the arguments and assessing the witnesses I would say that U the mother Mrs Mosley certainly you know gave her heartfelt testimony and I could feel for her as a parent when she said she's willing always willing and that's what a good mother does is is never gives up on your child but I also think uh what she didn't go on to say which I think she probably would admit to is that he's a little bit of a handful for her and that uh um you know she would like to know and and testify and swear and uh before this court under oath that she that he would be in court but frankly I don't think she can guarantee the court that he would be here uh more importantly to me is that he's out on the street doing some very dangerous things um Mr uh Fleming testified that one of his friends is currently in the Lake County Jail um a victim or involved in a driveby shooting and if um we all know that when you lay down with dogs you get please and so at some point this is going to happen to you um if you continue to do that and um you know when this petition was filed he was gone for three days at that time and since then he's been pretty much gone from home since July 24th and today is August 18th so this young man has been living on the street or between friends or doing something that he shouldn't be doing all because he was afraid to come to court and and I'm sure he was afraid but um at the same time he didn't appear for court he endangered himself and maybe others uh and for those reasons the court is going to order that he remain detained pending his next hearing because there's an unlikelihood that he will appear for a subsequent hearing uh but in the meantime I'm going to order that this matter be staffed by your department um for disposition and uh we'll come back to court uh the date is you know if they do it on the 25th I'm assuming you can have your report ready by the 29th which would be Friday I don't know if you can have it done that quickly the following um Monday is holiday so we wouldn't be in court so the next date we could possibly be in court would be Friday September 5th um would that date uh would you have a report ready Mr Fleming yeah honor we would have the report ready but uh we would need time to send out this I see the the packages and to get a reply which would take a another week so what are you thinking September 8th is a Monday is that enough time it would you know if you do it Monday the 25th it would give you about a week almost two weeks is that enough yes all right then I'll set this matter for disposition on Monday September 8th 2008 at 9 a.m. are there any questions no judge no judge all right then this hearing is adjourned thank you good come on I'm say Your mother I'll see you at 130 okay it's okay I'll see you at 1:30 all right and you going to be all right I'll be here all day every day okay love you love you hang in I got a feeling they going to shake me off the companion but I probably go home on House rest that's what I hope but it's whatever if I go to companion I'm going do my time then go home so are you nervous yeah I'm nervous what are you nervous about I about what they going to say if they going to take me to companion what is comp that's a placement okay so can you say placement cuz I don't think anybody knows what oh yeah it's a placement that's M shville shville um so can you tell us again um what are the possibilities what might happen to you tomorrow what might the judge do my judge might send me the rep placement well she probably might give me house arrest cuz my mom want me to come back home my daddy my therapist y' what it's up to the judge what she do and again what are you hoping for I'm hoping for house arest cool um so in your last hearing uh your PO seemed to be against you um tell me how you feel about him start out with like my my Po um my PO I don't think he like me man cuz last my PO he told me I W go on the house I mean placement and next thing you know some weeks later he trying to send me the placement so he lied to my face and my dirty face so I probably do go to play so tell me about your PO what do you think of him I he cool sometime but I don't like him why cuz he he Li he trying to send me off the placement for a little reason for a warrant that ain't nothing I'm curious do you think that um there's anything good about placement for you yeah I don't know I ain't know being it probably is is though we got School Troy I work on my GED so tell me tell me placement would be good yeah is better than hell so tell me it start out with I placement might be good for me because placement might be good for me because I could do work on my G I still go to school probably work on my anger and I get home visits dude you don't have anger problems do you yes I do why I don't know I got anger problems cuz it's like I build I hold it in like if I cry I don't cry I hold it in my anger build up every time and sometimes I let it out on somebody else sometimes I let it out on the wall I just don't be having anger around some people so how you been doing here I've been doing all right a little bit but it ain't helping it here my a helping now what do you uh what do you want the judge to know like if you could talk to the judge personally you know just sit down with her and say what's up what would you want her to know about you I want the judge to know but I ain't no bad kid but I need to be home my family cuz my sister real sick right now and now give me another chance trust me that I'm going do better and I'm going to go to school and I ain't going to run away from the house no more what's wrong with your sister she having women problems cramp stuff so are you kind of like the uh are you the only guy in the house now I got a little brother my little brother named latte he 14 does he look up to you yeah he do if you could uh guess what you think the judge will order for you what do you think it'll be placement she yeah she'll she'll order me placement and that could be bad or could be good I've been thinking about it cuz I was thinking it's going to be bad cuz I never been before but I heard about it so it probably work out probably work who' you hear about from the people from the placement and other kids dos even my PO but I wouldn't believe in him anyway okay so how how do you think you'll react uh if they put you in placement I'm going to try to do good I ain't going to walk in there with no positive like no bad attitude I'm going walk in there with a positive attitude I ain't going to try to fight nobody cuz if you fight you come back here so I'mma try I'm at least try do some do some mons and go home so I guess there a couple options of placement do you know about that no yeah I um the question I have here is uh if you have to go to placement which placement would you want to go to have you heard about those different kinds it's different kinds but some sorry they're different kinds of what there different kinds of placements but they far away like some in different states it's mostly some in Indiana too but they're like 3 hours away they was trying to send me in Pennsylvania but I was like no I'm just going to go to companion and share cuz it's closer I get home visits do you think you'll have any say in it yeah I had a say but they won't hear my question so what what yeah I probably have a say up in CIA probably they they I asked the lady I don't I told her I don't want to go she wrote it down on the paper she was like all right and then I told a dude from Pennsylvania uh up in Willows Glenn Academy I told him I don't want to go he said he going to talk to my PO about it but the other lady from shville companion placement she said she ain't say she was going to talk to my uh po so I don't know what's going to happen is that something you'd ask your lawyer to ask the judge for a specific placement I don't know I don't know we I probably can't ask my lawyer but I ain't got no lawyer yeah you do I do oh oh yeah you talking about a lawyer like yeah like the guy is going to be sitting next to you yeah I know what you're talking about and I ain't got no lawyer like to pay for him but he on my side though he was on my side last time I was going to go home until my PO lied about something what' your PO Li about my PO lied about me and my friend he had it was a drive by shoot that somewhere in Gary and I live all in mirville he put that in there like and I was like what they got to do with me I stay all way in mirville the people that he think the people that did is coming after me I'm like I don't know the people that ain't never seen me before so how they going to come after me went off from right there man I don't remember talking about that no he said he said that in the court cuz your friend got shot right mhm all right right why do you think why do you think he lies about you cuz when I first met him I think cuz he think I'm a thug a gang he don't like me and he been acting like that all time my PO he been acting like that ever since I met him I already know he been trying to send me the placement and when we was in court the judge asked him did anybody tell him he he going to placement for 2 years he said no but he did tell me that's that's why I didn't go to court he said I'm going to placement for 2 years that's why I didn't go to court that's how I got that warrant and then when the judge asked him I couldn't talk no more Court was over but I'm going try to tell her tomorrow and uh pretend uh you're talking to the judge right now but how are you going to prove to her you're not a a thug or gang bang or whatever if I was talking to the judge right now IID tell them I'm trying to do better I know I got a problem if you send me home and trust me I'm going show you I can work my problem out with my whole family cuz it ain't just me I need to my I need to get around my family cuz they ain't even doing better without me I can't be away from my family and see them every weekend I need to see them every day go to school and help work on my anger go therapist counselor and I don't even be outside like that no more don't smoke no more none of that sounds like you'll be uh very unhappy if you don't if you get plac right I am but I'm if if it's not what they say it is I'll probably be all right but they say if I do good I probably get out in three months probably four home by Christmas no they told me I was going to stay with them by Christmas but they said they got a good Christmas something look forward to huh hey um how do you think your mom's uh going with all this going on she she can't take it either cuz she got to go to work and school and then come visit me so she don't get enough sleep and plus she want me home can you say can you say that again and start with my mom my mom she can't take it I cut that my mom said my mom said she can't take it cuz my sister's sick I'm in here she got to go to work and to school so she got a lot to do while I'm in here she can't sleep like that my sister real sick and she want me home and she don't want me in place he just not going right with her and I feel like it's my fault did your mom say she doesn't want you in placement yes she said she going to try everything not to make me go to place she was going to get a lawyer but she don't want to pay all that money just for one day well you got a good guy uh da he's a great lawy one the same lawyer from last time yeah they say he's one of the better ones he is they say he's the best he called Mr FL in Li too I a catch that when Mr FL was on the stand he called him in the lab when he told him so I forgot what he said then Mr F who was quad then he they kept asking more question then went on from there you're right I remember that you kind of caught him caught him but let's let's have you say something about your lawyer again but just start off with my lawyer yeah my lawyer I had yeah he he cool he went years wanted to go saying he a nice person he out for me and I hope he do G me out of it tomorrow hope he get me recommend for house arrest and not placement he do know what he doing yeah and can you just tell me what happening tomorrow tomorrow it's going to be caught I probably got caught at 8:30 in the morning probably 9 my daddy say he coming my mama say she coming my therapist it probably go well if it don't I got two options either go home or go to placement either one ain't bad I can do placement it ain't nothing I ain't weak I can do that I just hope it go go will nicely done that was that was was really good actually um H we got you answered all our questions really good thank you is there anything else you want to say yeah I like the t wait was that name that's her name Karen one to got all this set up I would like to thank Cameron because if she wouldn't have been here nobody would knew what I've been going through thank you Karen that's nice thanks the camera crew too we're terrible we're evil people don't think us no thank you manate it hey uh how are they treating her I'm trying to treat them good cuz you got to give respect you got to show respect to get it but d they ain't too good either they talk to us like we like we they kids but I'm I'm good with most of them but they just lied on me and I got hours like last round last week they lied on me and I got hours they milks be spoiled it ain't the place to be I'm sorry they did what to you they lied on me and I got like eight hours stay in my seal the whole day so they had you talking about they laid on you no they lied like they lied like they told story what did they Li about yeah what they say they said I cussed out one of the staff members and no I'm I'm probably the respectful as one ha never cussed him out never got L with him never argue with him and then next thing you know I came back from visit they was like you got 8 hours I'm like I get 8 hours then they put me in the sale bummer yeah that's all right I'm out here tomorrow good how are you doing what are you holding now oh okay okay how's it been going here going good all right what you been doing relaxing playing cards yeah watching TV playing C all right have you talked to your mom lately yes what's up with her we doing bad if she want to come home okay now you remember what happened last time when we went into court yeah what's changed now lot been changing I've been working on my angle and me and my mom getting better I'm been seeing my dad too cuz last time your mom I don't think was really um convincing that you know you could come home and she'd be able to supervise you no she was but she just know to do now she she got it all down packed okay um I'm going to talk with the U prosecutor this morning see if we can't get a result a plea agreement that uh um at least gets you out of here all right I'll let you know in a little while what the outcome of that is and I'll give you my recommendation as to what I think that uh that we should do but you're okay entering into some type of plea where you admit to to one of the charges if they dismiss the other if you go home is that something you'd be interested in at least exploring yeah okay okay I'd like to wrap the whole thing up for you today if we can rather than you know wait for a trial okay so I'll talk with the prosecutor this morning and see if we can come to some type of a agreement all make sure you bring it back to I will okay Morris hang in there see a little bit thanks time what Happ because you're jacking I told you that down all right get on the J so um can I have you stand over here for me I want her to look at you um tell me why you have so many uh get a little why you have uh so many people back here because many of the kids that have either Court hearings or detention hearings pending this morning have expressed um that they intend to be quite um combative and disruptive if the court I'm sorry I'm can you look at her I need her to oh sorry and you know what can you uh put his question in your answer why we have a full staff today because okay uh we have a full compliment of Staff up here this afternoon are this morning because we have several kids that have expressed that they're going to be volatile and combative if the court hearing that they're having today doesn't go in the way they feel it should go so in order to prevent any major problems we are here and prepared to handle whatever situation may arise cool thank you thanks we've been here before and been lots of you know kind of emotional hearings today's a big hearing you'll find out I think you know what will end up happening with mors how do you feel right now um kind of relieved I do I'm glad that today is the last day so what is your what are your thoughts as you're getting ready to walk into the courtroom what's it like for a parent to know you're getting ready to walk into a courtroom a big decision is about to be made hope for the best but um I hope it's to our favor and to his Advantage his faor you know so what would you like to hear the judge say you I'd like to hear the judge say um I really can't say honestly I would like to hear the judge say that he is going to uh a placement that is closer to home so that we can visit I know the last time the concern was the distance of distance right anything you'd want to say to Morris if you could because the next time you're going to see him is when he's walking in in shackles what would you want to tell Morris right now um that I love him and we're going to be with him all the way okay what I told him when I see him last night you know what you telling about just keep the faith and uh be truthful and honest you know and what you be telling me you know mean what you be saying you know he told me he was going to straighten up and do this and do that you know a child I mean a parent keep saying yes and keep having faith in their child until you know the last results and this is far from the last result you know thank you thank you three weeks have passed since Morris's last Hearing in that time he's remained detained while Court Specialists have determined what's in his best interest today he'll go back in front of the judge to find out what that is okay keep your hands behind your back judge might send me the placement well she probably might give me house word if I was talking to the judge right now I'll tell her I'm trying to do better I know I got a problem relax if you send me home and trust me I'm going to show you I can work my problem out with my whole family Morris you remember some time back we went through a detention hearing where you talked about your background your history and what you wanted to have happen correct yes now we're not going to go through all that for today's hearing all I want to know Morris is what you've learned since you've been locked up well when I learned since I've been detained was I know how to control my anger and then I would like to go home with my family and can the court and can your mother believe you right now when you're saying that yes and my father can you look them in the eye and tell them that that you're going to fully comply with everything I'm going to fully comply I'm going to do better I'm trying to change my life I don't want to be angry I got a problem I admit it what's your problem I have an anger problem that's all I have judge is GIC anything Morris you said you couldn't go to your therapy appointments because the therapist came when you were sleeping she came too early or he came too early what part of your smoking marijuana played into that I don't smoke in the morning time well when do you smoke telling you the truth probably around in the afternoon how did you're running away from home in July until mid August prevent you from meeting with your therapist I didn't run away so your mom knew where you were at no she didn't know where I was yeah so you were Runway her boyfriend see me my sister see me I would come home and I would spend the night downstairs she wouldn't even know it you're telling me people in your house knew you were sleeping in that house at night when when there was a Runaway Report out for you is that what you're telling me yeah and they didn't tell your mother you were in the house they told her but she ain't never se you said enough thank you no further question Mr Ruck anything else all I would say judge is that being locked up sitting here does something and I believe it has for Morris I would suggest that we move in increments we move in increments from where he was before with no real restrictions just you need to do what we're telling you going to do to now we're going to put a bracelet around your ankle and make sure that you're doing what we say you're going to do before we jump to the most severe conclusion the recommendation that he be shipped off away from his family and his brothers and sisters who he hasn't seen in a very long time so I I would just ask that the court give some Credence to what he said in the stand today thank you judge we've heard that Morris has done some soul searching while he's been detained for the last three weeks and apparently has seen the light I'm not sure what light it is he's seen what I've heard is a person that's still not taking responsibility for anything that he does he's not going to get Services unless this court takes him and puts him in a place where he can receive services and he desperately needs service Services I think that uh probation's recommendation for placement should be followed this is a difficult case for me for a lot of reasons I think that this is a mom too I remember from last hearing she said I'm always willing you know always willing and that's to me the sign of a really great mother uh but at the same time she acknowledges and admits that maybe he he's not ready to come home I mean we've got a young man who's punching holes in the wall we have a young man who's abusing drugs and we've got a young man who left home for four or five or six weeks to avoid his mother because he knew there would be a conflict um and so that worries me that he's going to put himself in a situation that's going to become dangerous for him um so for all of those reasons today the court is going to order that he be uh placed at compa Academy and I'll order that his family participate and family counseling along with him so that he can return home sooner than later all right this hearing adjourned thank you say goodbye to your parents it's got a best it's I love you too and I'll see you we get see you there okay I think Morris is a stinker thank you good luck and I think that he gives his mother a run for her money he's not to the point where he's really a danger to other people um so I don't see him as a hardened criminal at this point in his life it's my job and the job of the juvenile court system to make sure he doesn't get to that point at the end of his hearing uh um the judge made the determination that Morris should be sent to a placement facility to receive you know programs and services to hopefully help address the underlying issues that landed him in in juvenile in the first place and to hopefully get the family back to a point of reunification where everyone felt comfortable a lot of people don't understand what placement is is that another form of detention is it prison can you explain a little bit for viewers who might not understand what placement is when ordered by the juvenile system yeah so again when you're removing a child when you make the decision first of all that the child's not going to go home the question is what do we do with the child right I mean um so so one option is to remain detained in the juvenile court detention center but that's not designed for long-term um placement so very quickly in the evolution of these cases when the decisions made the child should not go home for whatever reason um we have to decide where where is the child going to go who can best care for and provide the services the child needs well the good news is is that the court takes a pretty good look at in a hard look at what is the um what is the appropriate place where they can benefit the most so one option you mentioned would be almost like a prison type of environment for the most serious cases they they have what at think one point was called boy school which is more of a uh a uh a lockdown facility with services but there's also then kind of intermediate facilities um like generically called placement facilities I'm not quite sure why why the name is is what it is but um where it is less regimented in terms of um it would let look much less like a prison and more like a day camp that a child uh um um spends the night at as well where they have access to individualized education plans therapy counseling parental visitation um and uh really with the idea that this is short-term and specifically designed to address the problems with the child and the family family um there'll be family counseling involved where the mom comes the child comes they kind of work together on these issues um and then hopefully within a very short period of time then at that point the child's returned back home as we wrap up Morris's case um we again you know did some research into um where Morris is today and I'll read you what we found um at the age of 21 he was convicted of robbery and serve time in prison he was released in 2015 and then in April of 2022 uh he was arrested on a firearm possession charged and a charge and sentenced to 24 months in prison and two years of supervised release does this surprise you at all or is this something that you often see because some of the kids you represent are so young when you represent them that they still have you know several years left of their Teenage life and young adult life um to kind of work work through whatever issues they're working through and they oftentimes end up back in trouble again yeah and and I I think specifically when we talk about Morris and uh you know that's obviously disappointing to hear and uh um you often then reflect and ask yourself are we doing a good job as a as a juvenile court system and accomplishing the goal of trying to keep kids on the right track um and you know it doesn't surprise me in the sense that despite our best efforts some kids aren't just making a mistake that gets them arrested involved in the court system and we correct the mistake um there unfortunately the mistake in some cases is is more of a symptom of the environment that they're in and in the community that they're in um and you know we can reprimand them for the mistake but we can't always change what their life is um outside the court back at home and so I think that's the hard part that we struggle with is that um you know Morris got got punished a little bit for for what he had done but you know we send him back in the same friend groups and the sameeh community and the same day-to-day living that that he had beforehand and there's not much that the court can do to remedy all of those things that that are influencing a child of that age and if those things aren't you know if those things aren't fixed and if the child like Morris you know still stays in those uh runs in those circles then you're going to get the same or Worse um things happening yeah

Channel: Calamari Productions

Views: 307,091

Keywords: teenagers, teens in prison juvenile prisons, life inside juvenile prison, juvenile prison what it's like, kids in prison, juvenile court, detention, arrest, Inside juvenile prison, probation, prison guards, corrections, juvenile justice, psychology, 60 days in, lockup, locked up, orange is the new black, lockup raw, criminal justice, documentary, documentary 2020, dw documentary, crime documentary, prison documentary, real crime, true crime, crime, jail, prison, juvenile, 2020, 2021, 2022

Id: OEcJAMYDmTc

Length: 82min 35sec (4955 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 11 2024