Transfer Between Courts Under the Indiana Juvenile Code

• NCJ Number: 72772
• Journal: Indiana Law Journal Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Dated: (1979) Pages: 577-591
• Author(s): R Batey
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Provisions for transfer of juvenile offenders to criminal court for prosecution as an adult under the Indiana Juvenile Code, which became effective in October, 1979, are discussed.

Abstract

The first step in creating a juvenile court system is to limit the criminal courts' jurisdiction over the acts of minors. The Indiana Juvenile Code takes this step by granting juvenile courts 'exclusive original jurisdiction' over any child alleged to have committed a delinquent act. These provisions parallel recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Standards Project. The code, like the transfer standards, does allow nonoriginal criminal court jurisdiction over the acts of a child if the juvenile court waives jurisdiction. However, the code, unlike the standards, creates far fewer obstacles to transfer. A prosecutor can seek transfer to criminal court under any one of three provisions: (1) if the charge is murder and the juvenile is over 10-years old, (2) if the charge is a class A or B felony and the juvenile is 16 years of age, or (3) if the crime is part of a repetitive pattern and the juvenile is 14-years old. The propriety test articulated by the transfer standards focuses entirely on the juvenile and his relationship to the juvenile court system. The code gives more attention to the interests of the public than to the condition of the juvenile, although it does provide some procedural rights to the juvenile such as a pretransfer hearing. It is suggested that significant defects in the code be remedied by amendment. Indiana juveniles under 16 should not be eligible for transfer, nor should any juvenile charged with a crime other than a major felony. With regard to procedure, the most important changes recommended would make transfer orders immediately appealable, would protect the juvenile's statements at the transfer hearing, and would offer an indigent juvenile services of an expert witness to contest the amenability to treatment issue. Footnotes are included.