Shelby County Juvenille Court Racism: Report Finds Memphis African-American Children Treated Unfairly

Shelby County Juvenille Court Racism: Report Finds Memphis African-American Children Treated Unfairly: Black youths arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, were much more likely than white juveniles to be jailed and tried as adults, discriminatory practices that also affect Hispanic youths in other cities, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

A review of 66,000 juvenile court cases in Memphis, where numerous abuses drew Justice Department investigators in 2009, revealed "serious and systemic failures" in the way youthful offenders were treated, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said.

"We found African-American children treated differently and more harshly," Perez said, summarizing the findings of the department's report in a conference call with reporters.