As you may know, Shaunis Mercer will be leaving the position of Assistant Juvenile Defender this week. For two years Shaunis brought new energy to OJD. Specifically Shaunis made every reasonable effort to reach out to attorneys statewide. Public defenders, privately assigned counsel, contractors, clinic professors and appellate attorneys all benefited from her knowledge and experience working through cases, developing local policy, or otherwise positively impacting juvenile defense and juvenile justice. I know that in a very short period of time she developed strong professional relationships with defenders.
Here at OJD Shaunis assisted in charting our direction and fulfilling the objectives of our strategic plan. She brought new ideas and views of addressing issues, whether it be the school to prison pipeline, defending against sex offenses, or raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction. She worked with numerous organization and individuals outside of juvenile defense to broaden the connection and appeal of our office and it’s mission. Shaunis also brought a technological acumen to our office, improving our outreach electronically, not the least of which was the development of the new website.
For these improvements and advancements, we just wanted to say thanks to Shaunis and wish her the best in the next stage of her career!