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ROBERT L. EHRLICH, JR., Governor H.B. 1342
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State House
Annapolis, MD 21401
Dear Mr. Speaker:
In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the Maryland Constitution, today I have
vetoed House Bill 1342 — Juvenile Justice Monitoring - Transfer to Office of the
Attorney General.
House Bill 1342 transfers the duties arid responsibilities of the Office of the
Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor from the Office for Children, Youth and
Families to a newly created Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit within the Office of the
Attorney General. These duties and responsibilities include evaluating and reporting
on facilities owned or operated by the Department of Juvenile Services housing
detained juveniles, physical plant conditions, treatment of and services to youths, and
child advocacy grievance processes, as well as reviewing reports of certain
disciplinary actions relating to the status or placement of a child. Under House Bill
1342, these duties and responsibilities would be performed by persons within a unit of
the Attorney General's office whose employment, salaries, qualifications, and
standards of training and experience would be set by the Attorney General.
The duties of the Attorney General under Article V of the Maryland Constitution
include representation of the Department of Juvenile Services. Thus, the Attorney
General would be required to defend that Department in the event that any report
made by the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit resulted in legal proceedings alleging
actionable acts or omissions by the Department or its employees, agents, or servants.
In any such proceeding, employees of the Unit may be called to testify as witnesses for
a party whose interests would be adverse to those of the Department. Thus, the
Attorney General would be placed in the position of having employees of one unit
within the office testifying against a Department represented by another employee
within the office. The written communication from the Office of the Attorney General
to the House Ways and Means Committee during its consideration of House Bill 1342
did not address this issue.
Since House Bill 1342 also provides the Attorney General with authority over the
personnel in the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit, the citizens of the State could
rightfully question the independence of this Unit if its employees are hired, paid and
possibly terminated by the official responsible for the representation of the
Department of Juvenile Services. It will not escape notice that the word
"Independent" would no longer be used in identifying this office if House Bill 1342
becomes law.
Ultimately, House Bill 1342 presents conflicts which could jeopardize the integrity of
the State's effort to ensure that our juvenile facilities are operated in compliance with
federal and State law. We must ensure our juveniles are housed and treated in ways
which will both protect public safety and present the best opportunities for
rehabilitation and reduced recidivism.
The extremely important work of the Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor should
not be compromised or subjected to even the potential for conflicts of interest between
the monitors and their supervising authority. One must have no reason to doubt the
- 4427 -
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