The Prosecutor's Wild Card: Certifying Juveniles for Trial As Adults under the Indictment Provision of the Florida Juvenile Justice Act

Authors

Barbara Jean Burns

First Page

49

Document Type

Article

Abstract

To brand a child a criminal for life is harsh enough retribution for almost any offense. But it becomes an all but inconceivable response when we realize that to so brand him may in fact make him a criminal for life.... [C]asting a youthful offender to the wolves who prowl adult jails may well dash any hope that he will mature to be a civilized man. During the last thirty years, the juvenile justice system has been the focus of controversy ranging from concern over the lack of "due process" safeguards inherent in its informal procedures, to public outrage over its inability to cope with the phenomenon of gang-related crime. Sensationalized reports in the media of violence committed by the young have provoked state legislatures and Congress to implement new measures aimed at getting tough with juvenile offenders. In spite of credible studies indicating a significant decrease in the overall level of juvenile delinquency during the last decade, more than half of the states have enacted laws granting prosecutors wide latitude with respect to transferring repeat and serious youthful offenders into the criminal justice system to stand trial as adults.

In Florida, the legislature has given juvenile prosecutors two powerful tools for expediting the transfer of appropriate cases into the adult adversarial system. The "direct-filing" provision of Florida's juvenile code allows the state's attorney to file an information against any minor, aged sixteen or seventeen years at the time of the alleged delinquent act, triggering the youth's automatic transfer out of the juvenile justice system. The prosecutor's decision to file an information is completely discretionary. The accused minor is not entitled to notice of the state's intention to subject him or her to an adversarial proceeding, nor notice of the threat of adult-style punishment. In addition, the prosecutor's decision to obtain a transfer by filing an information is not reviewable by any judge of the juvenile court. An information is legally sufficient where it asserts that the public interest requires consideration and imposition of adult sanctions. Similarly, the "indictment" provision allows the state's attorney plenary discretion in submitting cases, in which a child of any age has been accused of committing a capital offense, to a grand jury for the purpose of obtaining an indictment. This obliges the automatic transfer of an accused minor into the adult criminal justice system. If a juvenile is tried as an adult, and subsequently convicted, he or she must be sentenced according to the same rules as any adult convicted upon similar charges, including the death penalty. This article begins with a brief summary of the juvenile justice system's evolution in the United States and Florida, followed by an in-depth examination of the two statutory provisions mentioned above. The focus of discussion will center around potential abuses of prosecutorial discretion as it relates to the removal of cases involving minors from juvenile into adult criminal courts. The treatment will limit itself to an analysis of a prosecuting attorney's conflicts of interest; absolute discretion; ability to forum-shop; and immunity from judicial review. Finally, it will offer some alternatives to unfettered prosecutorial discretion, as well as a proposal for legislative action toward resolving the inequities engendered by the current statutory scheme.

Recommended Citation

Barbara Jean Burns, The Prosecutor's Wild Card: Certifying Juveniles for Trial As Adults under the Indictment Provision of the Florida Juvenile Justice Act, 2 St. Thomas L. Rev. 49 (1990).
Available at: https://scholarship.stu.edu/stlr/vol2/iss1/9