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Youthinadultcourt.pptxYouth in adult court
Overview
History of juvenile transfer laws
How do we transfer juveniles to adult court?
What effect does transfer have on youth and the JJ system?
History of transfer laws
Rising juvenile crime rates from 1975-93 gave public little confidence in:
Juvenile courts capacity to attribute culpability
Rehabilitation programs to reform kids
Judges’ willingness to punish serious juvenile offenders
Changing social attitudes on adolescence, crime, and punishment
Broader trend toward punitiveness and retribution
Little research to say if this was a good or bad idea
Transfer as law
Increasing number of States adopted transfer laws starting in the late 1970s
NY Juvenile Offender Law – adult jurisdiction
Florida legislation – prosecutorial election
Expansion of criteria for juveniles eligible for judicial waiver – lower age, more offenses, addition of prior record as a factor
Shift of burden of proof from prosecutor to defense in judicial waiver
Starting in 1978, nearly all legislative activity was focused on increasing the number of adolescent offenders that were transferred to the criminal court
Expansion of role of legislatures and prosecutors in drawing jurisdictional boundaries
This era of legislation marked the end of the era of Diversionary Jurisprudence in the Juvenile Court
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Intention of waiver laws
Increase the certainty of punishment
Reduce the “leniency gap” between juvenile and adult court
Provide punishments that are proportionate in length and severity of conditions to the severity of the crimes that juveniles commit
Increase the lengths of punishment for adolescents charged with serious crimes
Increase the severity of punishment by exposing adolescent offenders to harsh conditions of adult punishment
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Types of waiver
Judicial
The most common and the longest history
Originally, the only means of waiver
Involves the use of judicial discretion
Three types:
Discretionary • Mandatory • Presumptive
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Discretionary waiver
Prosecution presents evidence regarding reasons for waiver
Defense will similarly argue against
Standard criteria used to judge waiver
Seriousness of offense
Aggressiveness, premeditation, or willful
Crimes against persons or property
Merit of the complaint
If accomplices were adults
Sophistication and maturity of offender
Previous record
Likelihood of rehabilitation as a juvenile
The most frequently used • Waiver laws vary by state • Generally based on two factors: – Offenses considered – Minimum age
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Mandatory waiver
This waiver focuses on the probable cause that links the juvenile to the offense
Under this waiver, if PC exists for arrest then the judge must waive the case to adult court.
Case originates in juvenile court
Only 15 states allow for this type of waiver
Presumptive waiver
Certain cases are designated where the waiver is presumed to be appropriate
Defense bears the burden of proof and must argue why the case should not be waived
Statutory criteria that triggers presumptive waiver fails into three categories
Offense -based – Age -based – Record -based
Legislative waiver
Legislative or statutory (automatic) waiver introduces the juvenile into the adult criminal justice system at the point of arrest
Removes the personal element inherent in judicial waivers.
Considered to be
Rational; Nondiscretionary; Easily administered
How many youth are transferred
Nobody really knows exactly…
All forms of judicial waiver
Prosecutorial discretion
All forms of legislative exclusion
8,000
4 to 10,000?
( 2,700 in Florida )
50,000 to 200,000?
NCJJ / OJJDP data
How effective is transfer?
Juveniles prosecuted as adults
have higher re-arrest rates than juveniles whose cases are heard in the juvenile court
are more likely to end up in jail or prison as they get older
more likely to be re-arrested for violence and property crimes, and to be re-incarcerated
report weaker therapeutic environments and greater fear
report more adverse psychological outcomes
WHY DO THEY COME OUT WORSE?
Stigma
Not confined to incarceration
From the process
From the sanctioning experience
Socialization
Trauma
Exclusion
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Sometimes policies have unintended, negative consequences. In this case, a policy designed to deter juvenile crime actually made it worse
One of the reasons is that too many kids are transferred under existing laws, there are lots of “false positives”
Our findings are consistent with other studies. We can confidently predict that these results would happen elsewhere
Keeping kids in the juvenile court whenever possible minimizes the risk of “toxic” exposure of youths to harsh adult correctional environment
Complications for re-entry programming and services for adolescents
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Specific Findings
Lanza-Kaduce et al. : Who is re-arrested more, faster?
Florida youth in juvenile justice system
Florida youth sentenced in adult court
Case Matching Process
Recidivism?
475 Matched Pairs
Same age, sex, race, offense, # priors, most serious prior
49%
35%
Adult
Juvenile
Blended sentencing
The imposition of juvenile and/or adult correctional sanctions for serious and violent offenders.
There are five types of blended sentence:
Juvenile –exclusive
Juvenile –inclusive
Juvenile –contiguous
Criminal –exclusive
Criminal -inclusive
A recent trend in juvenile sanctions – There is a blurring of the traditional dividing line between adult and juvenile systems. •
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Blended sentencing
Juvenile-exclusive
The case is processed in juvenile court.
If adjudicated a delinquent the judge may sanction juvenile or adult term
Juvenile-inclusive
The case is processed in juvenile court.
The judge can simultaneously impose a juvenile and adult correctional sanction.
What differs from other types of sentences is that the adult correctional sanction is suspended if the juvenile satisfactorily completes the juvenile term without further offending. exclusiveness is due to deciding one term or another, not both.
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Blended sentencing
Juvenile –contiguous
The case is processed in juvenile court.
The sentence can exceed the jurisdictional age limit of the juvenile correctional system.
The juvenile is moved from the juvenile facility to an adult facility prior to completing the juvenile portion of the sentence
Criminal-exclusive
The case is processed in the adult criminal system.
The judge may impose a juvenile or adult sanction, but not both
Criminal-inclusive
The case is processed in adult court.
After conviction the judge imposes both a juvenile and adult sanction.
Figure 2. Recidivism Measures by Court Type
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
% Rearrested% Rearrested for
Violence
% Rearrested for
Property Offense
% Rearrested for
Drug Offense
% Rearrested for
Weapon Violation
% Incarcerated
for any Rearrest
Percent
Juvenile Court
Criminal Court
