| Q: |
How do statutory exclusion provisions vary by state? |
| A: |
Statutory exclusion provisions vary considerably with respect to minimum age and offense criteria. |
Statutory exclusion offense and minimum age criteria, 2004
| State |
Minimum age for statutory exclusion |
Statutory exclusion offense and minimum age criteria |
| Any criminal offense |
Certain felonies |
Capital crimes |
Murder |
Certain person offenses |
Certain property offenses |
Certain drug offenses |
Certain weapon offenses |
|
| Alabama |
16 |
|
16 |
16 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
| Alaska |
16 |
|
|
|
|
16 |
16 |
|
|
| Arizona |
15 |
|
15 |
|
15 |
15 |
|
|
|
|
| California |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
14 |
|
|
|
| Delaware |
15 |
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Florida |
NS |
|
|
|
16 |
NS |
16 |
16 |
|
|
| Georgia |
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
13 |
|
|
|
| Idaho |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
14 |
14 |
14 |
|
| Illinois |
13 |
|
15 |
|
13 |
15 |
|
15 |
15 |
|
| Indiana |
16 |
|
16 |
|
16 |
16 |
|
16 |
16 |
| Iowa |
16 |
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
16 |
|
| Louisiana |
15 |
|
|
|
15 |
15 |
|
|
|
|
| Maryland |
14 |
|
|
14 |
16 |
16 |
|
|
16 |
| Massachusetts |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
|
| Minnesota |
16 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Mississippi |
13 |
|
13 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Montana |
17 |
|
|
|
17 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
| Nevada |
NS |
16* |
NS |
|
NS |
16 |
|
|
|
|
| New Mexico |
15 |
|
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
|
| New York |
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
14 |
14 |
|
14 |
| Oklahoma |
13 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Oregon |
NS |
|
|
|
15 |
15 |
|
|
|
| Pennsylvania |
NS |
|
|
|
NS |
15 |
|
|
|
| South Carolina |
16 |
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| South Dakota |
16 |
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Utah |
16 |
|
16 |
|
16 |
|
|
|
|
| Vermont |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
14 |
14 |
|
|
|
| Washington |
16 |
|
|
|
16 |
16 |
16 |
|
|
| Wisconsin |
NS |
|
|
|
10 |
NS |
|
|
|
|
Note: Ages in the minimum age column may not apply to all offense restrictions, but represent the youngest possible age at which a juvenile may be judicially waived to criminal court. "NS" indicates that no minimum age is specified.
* In Nevada, the exclusion applies to any juvenile with a previous felony adjudication, regardless of the current offense charged, if the current offense involves the use or threatened use of a firearm.
|
|
[ Excel file ]
- All States have provisions for trying certain juveniles as adults in criminal court. This is known as transfer to criminal court. There are three basic transfer mechanisms: judicial waiver, statutory exclusion, and concurrent jurisdiction.
- Legislatures "transfer" large numbers of young offenders to criminal court by enacting statutes that exclude certain cases from juvenile court jurisdiction. As of the end of the 2004 legislative session, 29 states had statutory exclusion provisions.
- Under statutory (or legislative) exclusion provisions, State statutes exclude certain serious, violent, or repeat juvenile offenders from juvenile court jurisdiction. In most States, statutory exclusion provisions are limited by age, offense, and/or prior court history criteria.
- The offenses most often excluded are murder, capital crimes in general (offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment), and other serious offenses against persons.
- Some States (15) hold a hearing in juvenile court to determine if there is probable cause to believe the juvenile is of the required age and committed an offense targeted by the provision. Such provisions are referred to as mandatory waiver and were previously considered statutory exclusion.
- Minor offenses, such as traffic, watercraft, fish or game, and local ordinance violations, are also often excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction in States where they are not covered by concurrent jurisdiction provisions.
- Although not typically thought of as transfers, large numbers of youth younger than 18 are tried in criminal court in the 13 states where the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction is set at 15 or 16. Nearly 2 million 16- and 17- year olds live in these 13 states. If these youth are referred to criminal court at the same rate that 16- and 17- year-olds elsewhere are referred to juvenile court, then a large number of youth younger than 18 face trial in criminal court because they are defined as adults under state laws.
Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/structure_process/qa04112.asp?qaDate=2004.
Released on March 27, 2006. Adapted from Snyder, H. & Sickmund, M. (2006). Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report, Chapter 4. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Material originally compiled by P. Griffin for the National Center for Juvenile Justice's State Juvenile Justice Profiles website.
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