By Sue Burrell, The Chronicle of Social Change, October 4, 2019
California has taken dramatic steps over the past several years to reduce the transfer of juveniles into adult court system, ensuring that more young people accused of crimes can benefit from rehabilitation in the juvenile system. Sending youth into the adult criminal justice system can have a profound impact on the health and well-being of a young person, and alter the trajectory of his or her life.
In 2015, Senate Bill 382 clarified state law to make sure that adolescent development principles are part of the transfer decision. Proposition 57, a 2016 voter initiative, eliminated direct filing of cases by prosecutors in adult court and eliminated presumptions favoring transfer. And last year, SB 1391 prohibited the transfer of 14- and 15-year-olds altogether, making California the only state in the country that prevents judges from sending youth younger than 16 into the adult criminal justice system.
Despite these efforts to provide a more equitable system, some youth have continued to be transferred under manifestly unfair circumstances. Assembly Bill (AB) 1423, currently on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk awaiting a signature, provides a solution to one longstanding issue: how to reverse a transfer decision when the charges upon which transfer was premised are not proved in an adult court.
[Please click here to read more.]
Comments (0)