The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has revealed the state has provided legal aid to 74 juveniles this year.
The AGO revealed the state has provided legal aid in 140 different cases this year, where an individual implicated in a crime was unable to arrange for legal representation themselves. The AGO said 74 of these cases involved juveniles who could not hire lawyers. The AGO further revealed 28 people aged 18-30, 31 people aged 31-50 and 7 people above the age of 51 were provided legal aid this year.
The AGO also revealed the 74 juveniles who were provided legal aid by the state were involved in 8 different types of crimes. This includes murder, gang violence, drug abuse and sexual harassment.
The state is mandated to provide legal aid to individuals implicated in serious crimes, if they do not have the financial capacity to hire their own lawyers. The AGO had denied the request of 16 people for legal aid this year, as they did not fulfill the criteria to receive legal aid.