Juvenile Transfer Reform Act
Summary: The Juvenile Transfer Reform Act allows judges to transfer defendants from juvenile to adult courts based only upon consideration of specific criteria.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act shall be called the “Juvenile Transfer Reform Act.”
SECTION 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
(A) FINDINGS—The legislature finds that:
1. Each year in [State], more than [insert number] children are prosecuted in adult courts, and many of them are nonviolent offenders.
2. When children are handled in adult courts, they are more likely to become long-term criminals, and if held in adult prisons, are much more likely to be physically or sexually abused, or to commit suicide.
3. Judges are in the best position to decide whether a youth should be tried in adult courts.
(B) PURPOSE—This law is enacted to promote public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve the handling of children in the criminal justice system.
SECTION 3. JUVENILE TRANSFERS
After section XXX, the following new section XXX shall be inserted:
(A)
COURT HEARING—When a juvenile is charged with committing an act which would be a [Class A, B or C/serious felony] if committed by an adult, upon request of the prosecuting attorney, the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the case should be transferred from the jurisdiction of Juvenile Court to the [Superior/adult] Court.
(B)
RIGHTS ADVISED—The court shall advise the juvenile and his or her parents, guardian or legal custodian of the possible consequences of a transfer, the right to be represented by counsel, and other constitutional and legal rights.
(C)
FACTORS FOR TRANSFER—The court shall transfer the case from the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court to the [Superior/adult] Court if it finds that the state has established by a preponderance of the evidence that such transfer is appropriate, based upon consideration of the following factors:
1. Seriousness of the crime—the nature and seriousness of the offense, with greater weight being given to offenses against a person than against property; whether the offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated or intentional manner.
2. Characteristics of the juvenile—the record and previous history of the juvenile; the age of the juvenile; the juvenile’s emotional attitude and pattern of living.
3. Public safety—whether the protection of the community requires commitment of the juvenile for a period longer than the greatest commitment authorized by juvenile criminal law; whether the protection of the community requires commitment of the juvenile to a facility that is more secure than any available in the juvenile correctional system.
4. Rehabilitation—whether future criminal conduct by the juvenile is more likely to be deterred by programs and services available in the juvenile correctional system or in the adult correctional system.
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.