No Matter How Loud I Shout:
A Year In The Life Of Juvenile Court
Edward Humes
Review by Jewel Schellenberg
A year in the life…
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Humes describes the state of the juvenile justice
system through his observations of incarcerated
youth, judges, district attorneys, public
defenders, parents, and probation officers over a
year in Los Angeles County, CA.
Each individual thrown into the juvenile justice
system by way of offense or vocation has a
different experience; however, all agree on one
thing…
It doesn’t work, and I must agree
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You will learn from the individual stories in this book that
the juvenile justice system is far from fair, a youth’s
future is essentially determined by:
Age
 What is the least expensive?
 How busy the courtroom is on any particular day, and
 The level of concern of the Judge, parents, district attorney, and
public defender
 No consideration is given to the youth – their past, family life,
are they a product of the system, have they taken positive steps
toward a crime-free life while incarcerated?
NO ONE SEEMS TO CARE, and if they do, they feel helpless.

Has our educational system failed?
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One of the biggest predictors of juvenile delinquency is a
failed educational experience
Judge Dorn in Los Angeles County believes the answer
to juvenile delinquency is to “yank kids off the streets
and force them to go back into school…go to school or
go to jail is the alternative he offers” (Humes, 1996, p.
82).
How do we educate youth once incarcerated?
Especially as “an estimated 70% of the juvenile justice
population suffer from learning disabilities and 33% read
below the 4th grade reading level” (Wald et al., 2003,
p.11).
The court should be a tool for prevention…
Meet Judge Dorn
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Judge Dorn started his own prevention plan in Los Angeles County
by reaching out to the community, telling parents, bring in your kids
who are disobeying, running away, and skipping school
(so-called “status offenses”), he’ll meet with them, essentially a
scare tactic to prevent future delinquent behavior
How did district attorneys and public defenders respond?
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They felt Judge Dorn was wasting valuable court time which should be
devoted to current offenders and began “papering” him by requesting
other judges and continuances, which only served to waste more time
and prolong many incarcerated youth’s stays in juvenile hall
Desperate parents came from all over the county to see Judge Dorn
and “teachers in some of LA’s toughest schools swore Judge Dorn’s
kids did better than any other problem student” (Humes, 1996, p.
81).
Judge Dorn explains his motivation…

“Virtually every adult with a criminal
record, virtually every inmate in state
prison, virtually every murderer on death
row, started their criminal career in the
Juvenile Court. Whatever was done with
them at that time…way back when they
were in Juvenile Court, obviously didn’t
work. Why? Because our priorities are
backwards” (Humes, 1996, p. 129).
Cost Cutting our Youth?
(Talk about backwards priorities)
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The budget of the juvenile justice system is constantly
being cut – the programs that prevent are dying
Consider the probation department in Los Angeles
County which experienced an enormous budget cut:
$67 million

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The department then had to cut intervention camp sentences,
some from 8 months to 12 weeks
Another great program which places probation officers in
elementary and middle schools before they join street gangs has
been cut
If not prevented...

Incarcerated youth are more likely to commit
another crime, often more violent, shortly after
their release…
“Considerable evidence suggests that the
detention of juvenile offenders in programs
characterized by high exposure to deviant peers
and minimal adult interaction fails to reduce, and
in some cases may exacerbate, rates of
recidivism” (Gifford-Smith et al., 2005, p. 262)
How we can learn from the mistakes of
the juvenile justice system?
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Although change is difficult, perhaps we should be more
open to intervention and prevention programs such RTI
and Positive Behavioral Support plans. We may not see
results right away, but in the long run, it will be worth it.
Funding is lacking everywhere. Take NCLB – the federal
government seems to be asking for miracles, but not
providing the resources, should schools teach the tests
to achieve AYP? What about those students who get left
behind, where will they end up?
As educators, we should encourage our counterparts to
be aware of behavior problems, and the possible
underlying causes. Intervene, ask for help, we can
prevent juvenile delinquency before it starts.
One final quote…
This “is the heartbreak of Juvenile Court,
the wonder of it, and the scandal.
Heartbreak, because every kid cannot be
saved. Wonder, that this broken,
battered, outgunned system saves even
one child. Scandal, because it so seldom
tries to do anything at all” (Humes, 1996,
p. 371).
Works Cited
Gifford-Smith, M., Dodge, K.A., Dishion, T.J., & McCord, J. (2005).
Peer influence in children and adolescents: Crossing the bridge
from developmental to intervention science. Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(3), 255-265.
Humes, E. (1996). No matter how loud I shout: A year in the life
of juvenile court. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Wald, J., & Losen, D. F. (2003). Defining a redirecting a school-toprison pipeline. New Directions for Youth Development, 99, 915.