ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JUNE ARNEY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on legislation that would make Virginia among the toughest states in the nation on juvenile offenders, calling for youths as young as 14 to be tried automatically in adult court for murder or violent assault.
Only 14 states have laws that call for juveniles 14 or younger to be tried automatically as adults for serious crimes.
The proposed law also would give prosecutors the option of trying juveniles in adult court for a second tier of serious crimes. Only 11 states and the District of Columbia now give prosecutors that power, which usually is reserved for judges.
Virginia will be ``significantly tougher than before'' on juvenile offenders, said Melissa Sickmund, one of the authors of a 1995 national report on juvenile crime. ``But you're not the toughest. You're not up there with New York.''
In New York, youths as young as 7 can be tried as adults in rare cases.
Another key provision of the Virginia legislation calls for opening juvenile court hearings and records of youths 14 or older charged with a felony. Only about eight states go that far in legislating public access, according to Neal Miller, an attorney with the Institute for Law and Justice, a nonprofit research organization in Alexandria. About half the states allow limited public access.
The fine-tuning of the bill comes after months of wrangling by two commissions - one shepherded by the governor's office, and the other led by Del. Jerrauld Jones, D-Norfolk. A final vote is expected today or Saturday, when the General Assembly adjourns.
Lawmakers on both sides now agree on the major elements of the overhaul, including automatically trying some juveniles as adults and allowing prosecutors to choose the court for certain offenses. Legislators also agree on opening courts and records to the public, although there are a few details to be resolved.
The proposals in their current form have softened significantly from earlier versions. For instance, at one point, the governor's commission proposed no minimum age for trying juveniles as adults for certain offenses. Five states now have such a law.
Among the issues still to be resolved is the enactment date. The House version calls for the law to take effect July 1; the Senate version sets Jan. 1, 1997, as the date.
Both bills allow DNA tests for juveniles 14 and older charged with a felony. The Senate version broadens that to include youths as young as 10 if they have been committed to a juvenile correctional center.
The real impact of the provision allowing prosecutors to bring charges in adult court remains to be seen, Sickmund said.
``Part of the toughness is in the legislation, but part of the toughness is in the use of it,'' she said.
At least one of the critics who had voiced reservations is happier with the current versions.
``Virginia is still relatively moderate, even with this,'' said Linda Nablo, senior policy analyst at the Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth. ``As a whole package, it has turned out to be a more balanced and more moderate approach than we feared.''
Nablo said she is concerned, however, that this legislation will open the door to other laws that would send juveniles who commit lesser crimes to adult court.
``The fear is that people will be transferred to the adult system as an answer to more and more crimes at younger ages,'' she said.
Some national experts caution that for all the bluster, such changes in juvenile justice systems are likely to have little effect.
Barry Feld, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, has studied the nationwide trend of states' taking a tougher stance on youth crime.
Last year, lawmakers in Minnesota decided that 16- and 17-year-olds charged with first-degree murder should automatically be tried as adults. It was largely a symbolic gesture, he said, because juvenile judges already were sending those youths to adult court.
``It was a way for the legislature to appear to get tough without having any significant impact on the administration of the juvenile or criminal justice systems,'' he said.
Florida has been one of the pioneering states in giving prosecutors discretion on whether to pursue a case in juvenile or adult court. As of last year, Florida prosecutors may choose the court for offenders as young as 14 who are charged with certain crimes. The age used to be 16. Florida officials are expecting their caseload to increase by 5,000, Feld said.
Feld warns that one of the dangers of putting such decisions in the hands of prosecutors is increasingly uneven treatment of offenders - a phenomenon experts call ``justice by geography.'' A yearlong study by The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot newspaper showed that uneven prosecution already is a problem in Virginia: A disproportionately high number of youths from Southeastern Virginia are committed to correctional centers.
Feld also predicts that higher numbers of minority offenders would be caught in the net of the proposed law. In Virginia, judges are more than twice as likely to sentence to jail black youths than whites who commit the same crime and have similar backgrounds, according to a November 1995 review of 3,000 cases by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Feld and others support opening juvenile proceedings and records to public scrutiny.
``The value is to make the juvenile justice system accountable,'' he said. ``As long as they can happen in closed-door proceedings, the juvenile judges can act with impunity.''
As an associate judge with the Superior Court in Washington, D.C., Reggie B. Walton has been listening as Virginia lawmakers work to revamp juvenile law. Walton favors opening the courts in at least some cases.
``It probably is a myth to believe these events are confidential,'' he said. ``The people in the neighborhood know. You have to weigh the public benefit of keeping the policy behind closed doors. ... I think the shame factor is important. We've taken shame out of the mix when it comes to sanctions.'' JUVENILE JUSTICE
The General Assembly is considering two bills that would change the way Virginia deals with juveniles accused of violent crimes.
How the bills agree:
Juveniles 14 and older charged with capital murder, first-degree murder, second-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding would automatically be tried as adults in Circuit Court.
Number of other states which already allow automatically try juveniles as adults for certain crimes: 14.
Juveniles 14 and older charged with crimes such as robbery, car-jacking, felonious injury by mob, rape, and forcible sodomy could be tried in adult court at the discretion of prosecutors.
Number of other states which allow prosecutors, not judges, to decide in which court to try juveniles for certain crimes: 11.
Juvenile hearings would be open for youths 14 and older charged with a felony. Hearings could be closed by a judge if good reason is demonstrated, but judges would be required to file a written explanation. Records would be open for youths 14 and older convicted of a felony.
Number of other states which open juvenile courts and records to the public: About 25.
How the bills disagree:
The House version calls for records to remain open even if a judge closes the hearing. The Senate version calls for records to be closed if the hearing is closed.
What happens next:
Six lawmakers are expected to meet today in a conference committee to hammer out the final version of the bill.
Want to be heard?
You can leave a phone message with your state legislators at 1-800-889-0229 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
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