Sonoma Co. Defenders Build Strong Partnerships

On December 4, 2015, Sonoma County defenders gathered to participate in a PJDC/First District Appellate Project workshop in Santa Rosa, “Juvenile Delinquency Appeals: FAQs for Juvenile Court Defenders.” This was the ninth such workshop held in the First District, designed to establish strong and lasting partnerships among appellate and line defenders and to better shape the law in California.  Pictured here from left are Sonoma County juvenile defenders Richard Scott, James Loughborough, Angelle Wertz, and Joel Coble.  Mr. Scott represented Elias in Sonoma County Juvenile Court in In re Elias V. (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 568.  That case held that police use of Reid techniques of maximization and minimization–condemned 50 years ago in the Miranda decision–overbore the will of a 13-year-old, requiring reversal of the case.