Archive for category Juvenile

Juvenile Judge Seeks to Develop Solutions to Reduce Juvenile Delinquency

Minority Representation in the Juvenile Justice System Too High

LAS VEGAS – Clark County Family Court Judge William O. Voy will host a community forum titled “Preventing Juvenile Delinquency” at 1 p.m. Friday (Oct. 2) at the Pearson Community Center, 1625 W. Carey Avenue, North Las Vegas. The forum is sponsored by the Eighth Judicial District Court and the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services.

“We have too many minority youth appearing in the Juvenile Court compared to the rest of the population,” said Juvenile Court Judge William O. Voy. “Though we have made great strides in reforming the juvenile justice system over the past six years, we have not achieved significant overall decline in the number of youth committing crimes, especially among minority youth.”

“Community intervention is needed to provide services for families and youth at risk. We want to provide a network of programs and services to parents to assist them in preventing their children from committing crimes so they never end up in the juvenile justice system,” said Voy.

The forum will bring community groups and agencies together to identify services and programs that can assist in preventing juvenile crimes in the community. The goal is to provide early-intervention services to families with at risk youth and work to prevent many juveniles from reaching the juvenile justice system.

Media are invited to attend. Contact Michael Sommermeyer, Court Information Officer, (702) 671-4534, for more information.

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Judge William O. Voy Addresses Underage Prostitution

Judge William O. Voy, a Family Court Judge in Clark County’s Eighth Judicial District Court, appeared Thursday evening (July 23, 2009) on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric to discuss the urgent need to tackle the national problem of underage prostitution in the United States.

Voy, who presides over juvenile matters in the Clark County Family Court, said the problem is a national one and not just localized to Las Vegas.  He said the problem must be addressed by parents, courts and law enforcement in every city across the country.


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Juvenile Court: In the matter of Michael Mosley

Judge William Voy presided over a juvenile detention hearing this morning for Michael Mosley. The District Attorney has approximately seven days to file any formal charges. Judge Voy set a new court date of November 24, 2008 at 1 pm at the Family Court.

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Juvenile Court: Sentencing in Felony Reckless Driving Case

Two 17-year-olds accused of felony reckless driving that resulted in the Dec. 13 death of a Las Vegas man were sentenced today in Juvenile Court by Judge William Voy. Both juveniles were placed on house arrest with curfews to be set by Juvenile Parole and Probation, both must perform 1,000 hours of community service and/or complete counseling, and both will be placed on probation until their 21st birthday. In addition, as a condition of probation neither juvenile can operate a vehicle until they are 21-years-old. The driver of the car that struck and killed Brad Pidwell must also begin serving a minimum of six months at Spring Mountain Youth Ranch.

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District Court Reveals Plan To Bring Juvenile Justice To Rural Communities

During the next few months the Eighth Judicial District Court will ensure all outlying areas of Clark County have access to juvenile delinquency hearings by creating a hearing master system for rural juvenile justice. This program will provide court-appointed judicial officers in rural Clark County communities to preside over juvenile delinquency matters. Read the rest of this entry »

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In the Matter of Damon Starring: Report and Disposition

Judge William Voy adjudicated the minor a delinquent and sentenced him to 30 days in the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center followed by probation of 24 months.

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In the Matter of Brittney Bergeron: Termination Denied

Judge Gerald Hardcastle issued a decision this afternoon (June 22) in the matter of the parental rights of Tamara Bergeron. The State of Nevada sought to terminate Bergeron’s parental rights and severe her from her daughter Brittney. Judge Hardcastle denied the state’s request to terminate parental rights.

In an excerpt from the ruling, Hardcastle states:

The reunification process has been ended by TAMARA’s incarceration. BRITTNEY will not be physically reunified with her mother during her minority. To the degree that BRITTNEY is concerned about being returned to her mother’s care and living the life she knew prior to January 2003, that concern is satisfied. BRITTNEY will not be physically reunified with her mother.

But is it in BRITTNEY’s best interests to terminate TAMARA’s parental rights? The Department case manager says that it is not. This Court believes that it is not. BRITTNEY’s best interests are served by allowing TAMARA and BRITTNEY to continue to have a parent-child relationship, even if that relationship is other than traditional.

BRITTNEY’s love for her mother is so substantial that loss of that relationship would be detrimental to BRITTNEY. BRITTNEY’s desires for stability and safety have been assured. Her desire for a continuing relationship with her mother can be assured by denial of this Petition. It is simply not in her best interest to remove her mother from her life.

The hope is that free of the influence of the notoriety of this case, BRITTNEY and TAMARA will have a future relationship mutually agreeable to both. BRITTNEY also has the great benefit of having a truly unique foster family. Both TAMARA and the foster family love BRITTNEY. Both can be important in her life. There is no reason to choose one over the other. There is certainly no reason to exclude one over the other.

Since the mother’s rights are not terminated, there is no interest in terminating the father’s parental rights at this point.

Accordingly, the Petition is DENIED. This Decision shall constitute Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law as well as the final Judgment in this matter.

This decision comes as a result of a trial held in Dept. D of the Family Court before Judge Gerald Hardcastle which concluded on June 16, 2006.

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In the Matter of Damon Starring

Judge William Voy ruled this afternoon, following two days of testimony, that 17-year-old Daman Starring was not guilty of sexually assaulting another player in what was called a hazing incident at Sierra Vista High School. Judge Voy adjudicated Starring delinquent on one count of battery and one count of open and gross lewdness. Starring returns for disposition in the Family Court June 23.

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17-Year Old Denies Sexual Assualt Charges

This morning (April 14), a 17-year-old Sierra Vista High School Basketball player denied charges he sexually assaulted a classmate during an alleged hazing incident earlier this year. The student appeared before Judge William O. Voy.

The student was charged last month with one count of sexual assault and two counts each of battery and open and gross lewdness after a 14-year-old student alleged the 17-year-old held him down and assaulted him during basketball practice.

The case has been scheduled for a June 8 trial in Courtroom 9, Family Court.

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Sierra Vista Juvenile to Appear in Family Court Proceeding

A Sierra Vista High School basketball player accused of sexual assault returns to court at 9 a.m. tomorrow (April 14) in Courtroom 18, Family Court, for a status check in front of Judge William O. Voy. The court’s policy is to not release the names of juveniles to protect privacy. The juvenile has been restricted to House Arrest in the custody of his mother since March 23.

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