More than 1,200 children accused of serious crimes in Cuyahoga County since 2020 were defended by court-appointed lawyers who lacked state-mandated qualifications, The Marshall Project – Cleveland found. Ohio has a system to repay counties for private attorneys to represent people who can’t afford one. However, that taxpayer money comes with strings: Attorneys must keep up with legal education training and, in some cases, have trial experience.This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. To read a longer version of this story, click here. The state added special qualifications for juvenile cases 15 years ago to ensure that defense lawyers have training in how juvenile law is different and the best ways to communicate with child clients. “This isn’t just mini-adult court,” said Leah Winsberg, who long worked as an attorney with the Children’s Law Center, a nonprofit that provides legal services to children and advocates for policy reform. “Lawyers don’t just know stuff because they are lawyers. That is why we need ongoing training.”Why do attorney qualifications matter? Court-provided defense attorneys need to be as capable as the prosecutors they face, said Gayl Branum Carr, the immediate past president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.“Our justice system is based on a level playing field, so we have a check-and-balance system,” the retired judge from Virginia said. “It’s even more important when you’re talking about a child who’s charged with a delinquent act.” In the past two years, community groups and advocates have questioned the juvenile court’s practice of hand-picking attorneys for kids. That’s because more children from Cuyahoga County have their cases transferred to adult court through a legal process called a bindover. The groups are pushing for more transparency and accountability in decisions made in these cases. Earlier this year a Marshall Project – Cleveland investigation found that juvenile court judges, magistrates or their staff gave two-thirds of delinquency case assignments for private counsel to 10 attorneys in the year ending October 2023. The court’s assignment system violated state rules that say judges should equitably distribute cases and not directly influence the selection of attorneys. Some attorneys made nearly $300,000 a year handling defense and child abuse cases. Others wondered why they were offered no assignments.!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r