ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 16, 1995 TAG: 9512180028
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
When someone younger than 18 commits a crime, police must go to a juvenile intake officer and obtain a "petition," the equivalent of an arrest warrant for an adult.
If the youth is considered a threat, a judge can order him held in a juvenile detention home until he goes to court.
The case then goes to Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, which is closed to the public. If the youth is convicted, a juvenile court judge can place him on probation, send him to a program for troubled youths, or commit him to a correctional center run by the state Department of Youth and Family Services.
If committed, the youth will go to one of six juvenile correctional centers, which offer a school program, vocational training, and counseling for emotional, drug and sexual problems.
Most state commitments are for an indeterminate time, with the state's youth department deciding when the youth is suitable for release. A juvenile can be incarcerated only until his 21st birthday. A new law allows juvenile court judges to sentence serious offenders, such as murderers and rapists, to specific sentences of up to seven years.
If the juvenile is 14 or older and charged with a serious offense, prosecutors can ask a judge to have him tried as an adult in Circuit Court.
If the juvenile is transferred for an adult trial, his lawyer can appeal that decision to the judge of the Circuit Court. If the case remains in Circuit Court, a juvenile can be tried by a jury but is sentenced by the judge. The judge can send the youth to an adult prison, place him on probation or sentence him as a juvenile to a youth correctional center.
If the offender remains in juvenile court, his criminal record is wiped clean when he turns 21, and it cannot be used against him in job applications or subsequent prosecutions.
Allen's proposed system changes
If a juvenile intake officer is not available, which is often the case at night and on weekends, police can obtain a petition from a magistrate, who generally issues arrest warrants for adults.
In deciding whether to release the juvenile until his trial, a judge or magistrate will consider a broader range of factors, including previous offenses, other pending charges and any aggravating circumstances of the current offense.
All proceedings in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court will be open to the public. A judge can close the hearing in order to protect "the interest of a victim or witness" but must state in writing the reason for closing the hearing.
If the youth is convicted, juvenile court judges will have broader sentencing options, including setting a mandatory minimum sentence or sending the youth to a boot camp program.
In addition to providing educational and rehabilitative services, juvenile correctional centers will also offer "a military school-style daily regimen," with an "enhanced emphasis on personal responsibility."
If the juvenile is 14 or older and charged with a violent offense, such as murder, rape or robbery, he will automatically be tried as an adult. The judge in Circuit Court will not be allowed to sentence him as a juvenile. Juveniles 14 and older with three or more felony convictions will also be subject to mandatory adult trials.
Prosecutors will have the authority to seek adult trials for other juveniles, including those younger than 14.
A second proposal, advanced by a Democrat-appointed Commission on Youth task force, does not tamper with the age at which a juvenile can be tried as an adult, but suggests increasing the time they can be held from their 21st to their 25th birthday.
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