NCJ Number
110474
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Law Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (1986) Pages: 85-98
Date Published
1986
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article reports on and analyzes Utah's shift from a public policy of giving juvenile courts exclusive power to decide which juveniles are to be tried as adults (certification) to one allowing the prosecutor, under certain circumstances, to waive the certification hearing and file criminal charges against a juvenile in adult court (direct file).
Abstract
Historically, the juvenile court judge has evaluated each case and decided whether to retain jurisdiction or to certify the child into the adult system. Reasons given for judicial certification is usually one of the following: (1) to charge a juvenile with a heinous or violent offense that creates intense media interest or community pressures; (2) to charge chronic juvenile offenders who have exhausted the patience and resources of the juvenile system; (3) to remove minor offenders to adult court where they can receive penalties such as fines or short jail sentences; (4) to reduce juvenile court docket pressures; (5) to refer juveniles whose life styles indicate they would not be rehabilitated by juvenile system services; (6) to impose longer sentences than are available under the juvenile system; and (7) to obtain lesser penalties or punishment when it is perceived that the adult court would be less harsh than the juvenile court. Under Utah's new certification statute, prosecutors may waive the judicial certification hearing and file criminal charges against a juvenile in adult court if the juvenile is at least 16 years of age and is alleged to have committed criminal homicide or other serious and violent crimes. The change in Utah's juvenile justice policy reflects a shift in national perception from a more benign treatment of juveniles to a more get tough perception. 35 footnotes.