NCJ Number
80233
Journal
Corrections Magazine Volume: 7 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1981) Pages: 21-23,26-28
Date Published
1981
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The merits of Minnesota's revised juvenile justice statutes, which mandate that chronic juvenile offenders can be certified as adults and sent to State prisons and county jails, are debated by authorities in the field. Similar laws in other States are also examined.
Abstract
The Minnesota law (effective in August 1980) is part of a national attack on the notion that children should receive special treatment from the courts. By focusing on property offenders, it goes well beyond the laws of most other States and also guidelines established by the American Bar Association, which recommended that only those juveniles who committed serious violent offenses should be certified to adult court. Although the harsher sanctions are meant to dissuade chronic offenders, the impact in terms of numbers of institutionalizations has been minor. However, proponents of the statutes argue that the aim is to build a record against the juvenile that can be considered when the juvenile becomes an adult and offends again. In the last 4 years, seven States have redefined certification statutes to limit judicial discretion. Louisiana for example, has adopted a stringent law requiring that juveniles accused of armed robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated burglary be automatically remanded to criminal court. While these new State laws mandate harsher sanctions for some juveniles, they also confer due process rights that children's rights advocates have sought for years. However, the right to a jury trial in juvenile court is still being debated in Minnesota and other States. The right to plea bargain also seems to favor the juvenile defendant, since judges usually are lenient in such cases. While the immediate effects of the code revisions are still unclear, the bill is weighted toward prosecutors who need to make a prima facie case for 'presumptive' certification to prove that the juvenile's past record and/or current offense place the accused on the newly enacted 'grid' used for certification cases. Previously, judges would have had full discretion in such cases, and certification would most likely be denied. About 10,000 juveniles are certified as adults each year, and the number is growing. Additional suggestions for improving the juvenile courts are included.