Judge denies release of teen who violated probation by not doing schoolwork amid pandemic

A Michigan judge on Monday ruled against the release of a Black teenage girl who was incarcerated for not completing her online schoolwork.

Judge Mary Ellen Brennan of the Oakland Circuit Court ruled against releasing the girl, identified only as Grace, from a juvenile detention center. Grace, who was on probation after allegedly assaulting her mother, was incarcerated after Brennan ruled her noncompletion of schoolwork was a probation violation, according to a ProPublica investigation.

Brennan denied Grace’s motion for early release Monday.

“The right thing is for your and your mom to be separated for right now,” she said, according to The Detroit News.

Given the chance to speak on her own behalf, Grace told Brennan “I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient.”

Mary King, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Center for Youth Justice, said in a statement that Grace’s incarceration was a clear example criminalizing noncriminal behavior.

“Here is another instance of where a youth on probation was put in a confined setting for a behavior that is not a crime,” King said. “We only know about Grace because the mother reached out to a reporter. Because there is no system for reporting such situations on the youth justice system, we have no idea how many other ‘Graces’ there are.”

Grace’s lawyers have a pending motion for reconsideration before the judge, according to the news outlet. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper has until July 24 to respond.

The case has attracted national attention and condemnation, including from Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who suggested on MSNBC that race may have been a factor in Grace’s incarceration. Grace, who has also been diagnosed with ADHD, attended a predominantly white school before the district switched to online learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“If it was a white young person, I really question whether the judge would have done this,” Dingell said Monday. “Putting a young person in a confined area in the midst of COVID isn’t the answer.”