Trial as an adult


Trial as an adult is a situation in which a juvenile offender is tried as if they were an adult, whereby they may receive a longer or more serious sentence than would otherwise be possible if they were charged as a juvenile.
While there are specific protections that exist for juvenile offenders,, these protections may be waived.

United States

The first juvenile court in the United States was established in 1899 in Cook County, Illinois. Before this time, it was widely held that children 7 years old and older were capable of criminal intent and were therefore punished as adults. Traditionally, these juvenile courts focused on the offenders instead of the offenses and worked toward a goal of rehabilitation. These courts also arose from a growing belief that instead of being "miniature adults", children and adolescents possess moral and cognitive capabilities that are not quite fully developed.
After a dramatic increase in violent juvenile offenses in the 1980s and 1990s, a greater number of juveniles were transferred from juvenile court to criminal court for their crimes. The reason behind this is an immediate consequence to "reported escalations of juvenile violent crime" and the questioning that certain offenses and violations are far past any rehabilitation or change in behavior. Since the 1970s, some have sought to abolish the juvenile court, arguing that prosecuting juvenile offenders in criminal court offers better protection to society, gives restorative justice for victims, and holds juveniles responsible for their actions. However, others seek to maintain the juvenile justice system because it might be of value in confronting and tackling the more general crimes of children.

Criminal court vs. juvenile court

There are several differences between juvenile court and criminal court in the United States. One of the most significant differences is the intent of the two systems; the focus of the juvenile justice system is on rehabilitation and future reintegration, while the goal of the criminal justice system is punishment and deterrence of future crime. In juvenile court rulings, decisions often take psychosocial factors into account along with current offense severity and the youth's offense history. In contrast, in criminal proceedings, the severity of the offense and criminal history weigh most heavily in sentencing outcome. Upon release, those who pass through the juvenile justice system receive parole-like surveillance along with reintegration programs, reflecting the belief that juvenile behavior can be changed. Those released from prison receive surveillance which serves to monitor and report illegal behavior.

Transfer to criminal court

During the 1980s and 1990s murders by juveniles increased dramatically, which resulted in new legislation that allowed for more juveniles to be transferred to criminal court. These changes, many of which took place between 1992 and 1995, included lowering the age of judicial transfer, adding to the list of transferable offenses, and creating automatic transfer laws for certain ages and offenses. In 1994, it was found that the United States transferred roughly 13,000 juveniles to adult courts a year, with approximately 36% of those transfers involving youth who committed violent offenses.
There are four main processes by which juvenile defendants can be transferred to criminal court:
  1. Judicial Waiver: Juvenile court judges have the ability to transfer juveniles to criminal court, usually takes into account age and severity of offense
  2. Prosecutorial Discretion: Prosecutors have the authority to file cases in juvenile court or criminal court jurisdiction
  3. Statutory exclusion: The juvenile's case starts and must be heard in adult court if the juvenile is charged with an "excluded" offense. Most common excluded offenses are murder and rape.
  4. "Once an adult, always an adult" or "Once waived/always waived": State laws that require juveniles to be tried in criminal court if any previous crimes were seen in criminal court
The juvenile transfer processes usually carry a subprocess in them, and the prosecutor has the burden of proving the juvenile is not fit for juvenile court. Juvenile waiver has 3, with "discretionary waiver", which a judge reviews all the factors and decides whether or not to transfer, "presumptive waiver", the burden of proof transfers to the juvenile and must prove themselves amenable to treatment, and "mandatory waiver" where, although the case starts in juvenile court, the juvenile court is only there to verify it has met the mandatory waiver requirements, and if met, will be transferred to adult court.
Direct file additionally will have age requirements for certain crimes. For example, in Florida, one must be at least 16 to have any felony direct filed, while minors aged 14–15 cannot be direct filed at all unless the charge is punishable by death or life without parole. Although dependent on the state, usually states will allow a "reverse waiver", where a charge originally filed in adult court can be transferred back to juvenile court if a juvenile files a motion.
Statutory exclusion is implemented very different among the states, and usually have age rules. For example, in one state it may exclude the crime of kidnapping committed by juveniles aged 16 and up regardless if a weapon was used or not, but will only exclude the crime of kidnapping for 15 year olds if they used a deadly weapon, or exclude juveniles of any age if they were convicted of felonies twice in juvenile court, and is charged with another crime.
For "once an adult, always an adult", in some states such as Delaware or California, does not require a conviction for the previous adult prosecuted offense, if charges were dropped, the next charge will be charged in criminal court, although there are restrictions, most states do require a conviction in adult court.
Twenty-three states have no minimum age in at least one judicial waiver or statutory exclusion provision allowing for the transfer of juveniles to adult court. In states where a minimum age is specified for all transfer provisions, age 14 is the most common minimum age.

Demographics

In 2003, 2.2 million arrests were made involving individuals under 18, with the most serious offenses most frequently involving larceny-theft, drug-abuse violations, and disorderly conduct. According to 1998 statistics from the Bureau of Justice, which looked at 7,100 transferred juveniles charged with felonies within 40 of the nation's largest urban counties, violent felony offenses made up 63.5% of the charges made against juvenile defendants in criminal court. Other offenses included property offenses, drug offenses and public-disorder offenses. Of this sample of juveniles, 23% were transferred to criminal court by judicial waiver, 34% by prosecutorial discretion, and 41.6% by statutory exclusion. Within this sample of juveniles, 96% percent were male. A majority of the juvenile defendants were African American. The rest of the sample was made up of Caucasian, Latino and other. At time of arrest almost 40% of the juveniles were age 17, with 30.7% ages 16–17, 19.2% ages 15–16, 6.8% ages 14–15, and 0.3% less than 14 years of age.
In a study that looked at 1,829 youths, from ten to 17 years of age, it was found that females, non-Hispanic whites, and younger juveniles were less likely to be tried in adult criminal court than males, African Americans, Hispanics, and older youths. Among the juveniles transferred to adult criminal court, 66% had at least one psychiatric disorder and 43% had two or more psychiatric disorders. These prevalence rates are not significantly different from youths processed in juvenile court. Among juveniles who were processed in adult criminal court, those sentenced to adult prison had significantly greater odds of having a disruptive behavior disorder, a substance abuse disorder, or comorbid affective and anxiety disorders.
An estimated 250,000 youth are tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year across the United States.

Controversy

Advocates for the abolition of juvenile court

Critics of the juvenile court argue that the definitions of childhood and adolescence that were used to establish the first juvenile courts in America are no longer equivalent to the definitions of childhood and adolescence today. These critics state that the boundary between juvenile and adult is no longer as clear, as children appear to grow up faster, with more exposure to adult ideas, and as adults more often engage in juvenile behaviors and activities.
It is also argued that many juvenile jurisdictions are no longer taking a rehabilitative approach to juvenile delinquents, and are instead becoming more and more punitive, and that because of some of the modifications within the juvenile justice system these defendants are losing out on chances for better advocacy and they are not receiving all their rights as a trial defendant.

Competence of juveniles as trial defendants

There is much controversy surrounding the idea of trying and sentencing juveniles as adults in criminal court. This debate centers around the cognitive and moral capacities of juveniles.
There have been numerous attempts to conceptualize and organize the abilities needed to be deemed a competent defendant in criminal court. Competency can be defined as the ability to assist counsel and the ability to engage in proficient reasoning and judgment-making. To assist counsel, a defendant must be able to understand trial procedures, understand the charges against him or her, understand his or her rights in court, and must be able to engage in beneficial communication with his or her counsel. To demonstrate proficient reasoning and judgment in court-related matters, a defendant must understand that counsel will provide insight and aid, know when it is beneficial to waive certain rights, and comprehend repercussions of certain options within court proceedings.