In all 50 states, youth under age 18 can be tried in adult criminal court through various types of juvenile transfer laws. In California, youth as young as 14 can be tried as adults at the discretion of a juvenile court judge.
When young people are transferred out of the juvenile system, they are more likely to be convicted and typically receive harsher sentences than youth who remain in juvenile court charged with similar crimes. This practice undermines the purpose of the juvenile court system, pursues punishment rather than rehabilitation, and conflicts with what we know from developmental science. Furthermore, laws that allow youth to be tried as adults reflect and reinforce the racial inequities that characterize the justice system in United States.
In this report, we review the process that unfolds when a young person is tried as an adult in California and evaluate the health and equity impacts of charging youth as adults.
Our findings indicate that:. Youth of color are overrepresented at every stage of the juvenile court system. Research also shows that as youth mature, they are substantially less likely to re-offend; locking children up for years will extend their incarceration well beyond the time needed for them to be rehabilitated.
Many youth in the justice system have experienced or witnessed violence and trauma. Youth in the adult criminal justice system face a higher risk of sexual abuse, physical assault, and suicide. Incarcerating children with adults also denies them access to many essential programs and services, including basic and special education, as well as treatment and counseling services, impeding their chances for healthy development.
When youth face possible involvement in the adult system, we advocate for adequate due process, including ensuring that the decision is made by a judge following a full and proper hearing, and with the opportunity to appeal. Youth Tried as Adults. On January 25, , the Supreme Court held in Montgomery v. Louisiana that Miller applies retroactively and requires new sentencing hearings for everyone serving a mandatory life-without-parole sentence for an offense when they were under Montgomery reaffirmed that life-without-parole sentences are unconstitutional for all but the rare juvenile for whom rehabilitation is impossible.
Over a thousand people who were automatically condemned to die in prison for juvenile offenses have been resentenced because of Miller , and hundreds have been released. Some 4, children are housed in adult jails and prisons on any given day in America. Children housed in an adult jail or prison are up to 9 times more likely to commit suicide than those in juvenile facilities. Every state in America has capacity to house juveniles separate from adults but many refuse to do so.
Many children prosecuted as adults suffer from untreated mental illness. Unlike adults with mental illness, children have very limited experience managing their disabilities, anxieties, fear, and trauma. They often act impulsively, recklessly, and irresponsibly. Many kids who are transferred to adult court for criminal prosecution are automatically placed in adult jails and prisons.
Some states strictly prohibit placing children in adult jails or prisons, but a majority still allow children to be incarcerated in adult prisons and jails, where they are at the highest risk of being sexually assaulted. Thousands of young people have been assaulted, raped, and traumatized as a result.
Joe Sullivan was just 13 years old when he was charged as an adult with sexual assault and sentenced to die in prison. When we consign our youth to the adult system, we are throwing away even that glimmer. Juvenile sentences, in contrast, shield our youth from the unique dangers of adult facilities and preserve the possibility — however slight it may seem — of rehabilitation.
Terry A. Maroney joined the Vanderbilt Law faculty as assistant professor in Fall General News. Apply Now. Make a Gift. All rights reserved. Toggle navigation. About Vanderbilt Law School offers a rigorous legal education delivered by a world-class faculty in a uniquely collegial and supportive environment. Get Connected. Prospective Students Academics J.
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