State's attorney reports JDAI steering committee appointment and new role on open‑meetings commission
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Summary
Michael Smith, the state's attorney, briefed the commission on recent appointments: membership on the state JDAI steering committee and leadership roles on the state's open‑meetings commission and a related task force. He described attending an out‑of‑state JDAI conference and plans to work on legislative clarifications to open‑meetings law.
Michael Smith, the state’s attorney, told the commission he had been appointed to the state steering committee for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and is the only prosecutor on that committee from his state delegation. Smith said he and several colleagues visited Indiana to observe that state’s system and that the goal is to identify practices that could inform local‑level juvenile diversion work. He described JDAI goals as encouraging alternatives to detention when appropriate and increasing probation and community supports earlier in case processing.
Smith also said he has been appointed to an open‑meetings commission task force and was named chair of the open‑meetings commission. He said the task force aims to reduce ambiguity in the state's open‑meetings law and will require legislative drafting and engagement with the attorney general’s office and the legislature. Smith said he would be attending an upcoming task force meeting in Pierre and invited questions from the commission.
