Juvenile Court – Jurisdiction
What’s the Problem?
The Juvenile Justice system is designed to handle the adjudication and treatment of youth. This is especially important in as it has been recognized (including by the US Supreme Court) that “children are constitutionally different form adults in levels of their culpability” [Montgomery v. Louisiana, 2016]. In addition a 2007 DOJ and CDC study found that transferring youth to an adult criminal justice system does not protect the community and substantially increases the likelihood that youth will re-offend. [Hahn]
In many cases, adjudicating a minor’s alleged crimes in adult court is appropriate in cases where the juvenile court can see that the individual is not amenable to treatment in the Juvenile Justice systems based on facts and factors presented. What is not appropriate is for the law to prejudge the waiver decision for entire classes of crimes and ages of youth and statutorily required their hearing in adult court. Unfortunately, this is what current Maryland law provides.
While it is possible under current law for an offender to seek a “Reverse Waiver” to return a juvenile’s adjudication in these cases back to juvenile court, this is not an acceptable approach for two main reasons. First, the standard for “reverse waiver” may be unrelated to the juvenile’s amenability for treatment but rather may be decided on the undefined “interest of the child and society” [Section 4-202(b)(3)]. Second, it should be noted that cases which are statutorily forced in to the adult system are common, representing about 80% of all cases where a child stands trial in adult court [Hogan].
What solutions are we working toward?
MAJR supported the 2023 Juvenile Court-Jurisdiction Bill (HB096/SB093). The bills straightforward approach:
- Removes the provisions of law which cause certain cases to be hard in adult court.
- Preserves the Waiver process for appropriate cases to be moved to adult court.
Progress in other states: (Will this work?)
Learn More!
[Hahn] Hahn, Robert, et.al. “Effects on Violence of Laws and Policies Facilitating the Transfer of Youth from the Juvenile to the Adult Justice System. November 30, 2007. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5609a1.htm [Montgomery v. Louisiana] US Supreme Court, Montgomery v. Louisiana, 136 S.Ct. 718, 736 (2016). [Section 4-202(b)(3)] Article – Criminal Procedure Section 4–202 Annotated Code of Maryland (2018 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) [Hogan] Hogan, Rutherford. “Juveniles Charged as Adults in Maryland (7/1/2019 – 12/31/2019). Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services. http://goccp.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/juveniles-charged-as-adults-201907-201912.pdfJuvenile Court – Jurisdiction, Racial Equality Impact Note, Department of Legislative Services, Maryland General Assembly, 2023 Session
