John,
Today, The Sentencing Project released a new resource on the automatic charging of youth in adult courts. State “auto-charging” statutes specify offenses and age requirements where a youth must be charged in adult court. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have automatic charging provisions.
|
We know from decades of adolescent research that charging youth as adults harms youth wellbeing and community safety. Charging youth as adults increases the likelihood they will commit future offenses, prevents youth from getting access to appropriate treatment and rehabilitative resources they would have received in the youth justice system, increases their risk of physical and sexual abuse, and exacerbates racial disparities. Juvenile court judges are trained to consider factors such as childhood trauma and adolescent brain development when making decisions regarding youth, but automatic charging sidesteps the juvenile courts' involvement. To address the harm of auto-charging, the report lists the following recommendations: - End automatic charging and begin all cases involving youth under 18 in juvenile court.
-
Ensure that decisions to send youth to adult court are always reviewed by a judge, ideally in juvenile court.
- Limit pathways for youth to enter the adult criminal legal system.
- Remove all youth from adult prisons and jails.
|
