Each year, California prosecutors charge hundreds of youth in the adult criminal justice system through a power called “direct file.” Prosecutors make the decision to direct file behind closed doors without considering a youth’s background, mental health, trauma history, degree of participation in the offense or potential for rehabilitation. Direct file also does not allow for many due process protections — for example, no hearing before a judge and no right to appeal.
Prosecutors in counties across California do not apply direct file based on consistent standards or criteria, leaving the state with an inequitable system of “justice-by-geography.” The use of direct file in California reflects the racial disparities and inequities of the criminal justice system and society at large. Direct file is simply bad policy.
[For more of this story, written by Rebecca Wegley, go to http://jjie.org/prosecuting-yo...by-geography/277565/]
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