Rutherford county juvenile court judge

For two decades, Judge Donna Scott Davenport oversaw the illegal arrests and detentions of more than a thousand children in her Rutherford County courtroom, rutherford county juvenile court judge. Her actions eventually caught up with her — the county settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and an investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica brought to light what had been happening for years, unchecked.

A bill seeks to regulate the arrests of juveniles after former Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport, in green judicial robes, came under fire in for the detention of more than a thousand children. Photo: RutherfordCountyTN. Mike Sparks is pushing legislation he believes would have stopped the aggressive lockup of children. Sparks, a Smyrna Republican, is preparing legislation prohibiting interviews or interrogations of children without the presence of legal counsel, parent, guardian or custodian. In addition, children would be told of their constitutional rights to legal representation when taken into custody, and a video recording of any interviews would be made. Whether such legislation would have prevented the lawsuit is difficult to predict because the policy that led to arrests had been in effect since

Rutherford county juvenile court judge

Donna Scott Davenport born Scott is the first judge to have overseen the Rutherford County, Tennessee juvenile justice system, filling the newly created position in She presided over the juvenile court and legal system for the county, appointed magistrates formerly, referees , set protocols, directed police and heard cases involving minors, including parents charged with child neglect. She subsequently received bachelor's, then master's degrees in criminal justice from MTSU , followed by a J. She wrote the Tennessee State bar exam about a year after graduation. After failing the exam four times, Davenport passed in , on her fifth attempt, [1] then began teaching as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at MTSU the following year. Davenport was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in , nine years after receiving a law degree. She left the law firm and became a full-time court referee in The following year, the county violated federal law times by keeping kids incarcerated for longer than legally allowed. Interviewed, Davenport estimated that half of the noted violations were levied for children uttering curse words to her or another, for which she typically punished them with between two and 10 days in jail, despite admitting to the illegality of the sentence: "Was I in violation? But am I going to allow a child to cuss anyone out? Heck, no. She was subsequently elected twice, unopposed, as the incumbent, in and , to two full eight-year terms as Judge of the Juvenile Court of Rutherford County. Her current term expires in September

Retrieved June 24,

Rutherford County is suing its insurance provider for refusing to cover its settlement in a large class action lawsuit over its unlawful policies for arresting and detaining children. The county was sued over its juvenile court polices, which led to more than a thousand children being illegally arrested and jailed. Rutherford County is suing on three counts, including breach of contract. What this means, for now, is that Rutherford County has used taxpayer money to foot the bill for the settlement, when it expected to be covered by insurance. The story chronicled how the county had illegally arrested and jailed children for years, all under the watch of former Judge Donna Scott Davenport. Shortly after, Davenport announced her retirement. Since then the county has elected a new juvenile court judge, Travis Lampley.

Juvenile court judge Donna Scott Davenport , one of the last elected leaders still in office after being tied to Rutherford County's decades-long history of illegally arresting and jailing children, announced Tuesday afternoon she won't seek re-election later this year. The announcement came one day after Democratic Party lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly said they were seeking legislation to oust Davenport. Kyle Mothershead, who represented plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit settled in December, said the county illegally arrested and incarcerated children before Davenport came to office in Still, he responded to Tuesday's news with condemnation and relief. Davenport and the county's juvenile detention center has faced national criticism for policies that led to multiple lawsuits and the illegal incarcerations of thousands of children on misdemeanor or made-up charges. The policies led to children being handcuffed at school and jailed. The public learned of these polices after a fight in the neighborhood near Hobgood Elementary led to the arrests of 10 children.

Rutherford county juvenile court judge

However, locals, including the county's African American residents, have suffered from unlawful law enforcement tactics for more than two decades, according to multiple lawsuits and years of reporting by the Daily News Journal. The class-action lawsuit was sparked by the illegal arrest of 10 children on April 15, — including four students at Hobgood Elementary — by the Murfreesboro Police Department. The arrests were based on a cellphone video of an off-campus incident of children on March 20, The nearly two-minute video was posted on YouTube showing a group of children following another child while yelling. The video shows two small children punching an unfazed, larger child who walks away, while the smaller children continue to take swings at his back. The fight occurs on several residential yards and a street. Many other children were present, and the video records the voices and images of part of the group, court records show. The arrests included children being handcuffed at Hobgood Elementary before being transported to the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center. The arrests, more than five years ago, have continued to shock locals, while gaining renewed national media coverage. In , about residents attended a community meeting in to discuss the arrests.

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Update : This story has been updated to identify that Crismon spoke at a community event and to include the voting dates for this election. In addition, children would be told of their constitutional rights to legal representation when taken into custody, and a video recording of any interviews would be made. They were charged with facilitating an assault, even though such a charge did not exist. Her actions eventually caught up with her — the county settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and an investigation by WPLN News and ProPublica brought to light what had been happening for years, unchecked. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville. Davenport was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in , nine years after receiving a law degree. Betsy Phillips, Nashville Scene , November 1, He was locked up illegally by Davenport when he was 15, denied his medication, and after release tried to kill himself. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. Her current term expires in September In a recent WGNS radio forum , he was asked how he would rebuild trust. They just ran over you anyway.

Donna Scott Davenport born Scott is the first judge to have overseen the Rutherford County, Tennessee juvenile justice system, filling the newly created position in

Retrieved August 10, Rutherford County Representative John Ray Clemmons released a statement decrying inaction, "As I stated in , there is no rational justification for any of this in our society. Davenport's juvenile court legacy is narrated in a four-part podcast, The Kids of Rutherford County. Retrieved June 24, Rutherford County Election Administrator Alan Farley talks about what races will be on the ballots in the elections. In a recent WGNS radio forum , he was asked how he would rebuild trust. Lawyer for the class action plaintiffs Kyle Mothershead stated, in February , that Rutherford County had illegally arrested and incarcerated minor children prior to Davenport's appointment as its juvenile court judge in The story chronicled how the county had illegally arrested and jailed children for years, all under the watch of former Judge Donna Scott Davenport. Facebook Instagram Twitter. In , lawmakers called for a federal investigation into the arrest and detainment of 11 young, black elementary school children in Rutherford County who had merely, allegedly, witnessed a fight between five and six-year-olds. And we can do that and we can make that turnaround. In his initial ruling six years ago, Crenshaw required the county to use a neutral factfinder to determine whether a child could be detained under state law. They just ran over you anyway.