THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010309
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY AND ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long : 156 lines
Under a bipartisan reform package announced Wednesday, children 14 and older who commit serious crimes such as murder and rape would be tried as adults, and juvenile courts would be open to the public.
The compromise plan is the product of lengthy debate and late-night meetings to combine the work of two commissions that studied juvenile-justice reform in Virginia. The groups - one appointed by Gov. George F. Allen, the other led by Del. Jerrauld C. Jones, D-Norfolk - both proposed changes to the juvenile code, but from different positions.
The result is a package of proposals that could bring about the most sweeping changes in the state's juvenile justice system in modern times.
``There was a lot of blending,'' Allen said. ``We wanted to take the best of the two commissions' diligent work. . . . This will send a message to young people that we're not just going to give you a slap on the wrist.''
The proposal calls for youths charged with crimes including murder and rape to automatically face trial as adults. Prosecutors would get to choose the court for another group of serious offenses, including car-jacking and robbery, but Circuit judges would retain the option of sentencing those youths as juveniles.
Also included is $26.7 million to turn existing buildings into a new prison and school for violent juveniles. The money is already proposed in Allen's two-year budget.
Jones said the plan meets the three goals of handling the state's most violent juvenile offenders in Circuit Court, restoring credibility to the juvenile-justice system and addressing the needs of the vast majority of non-serious offenders.
``There are some things in that bill that I'd rather not have in there, quite frankly,'' Jones said. ``But on balance . . . I know that reasonable minds differ sometimes.''
Attorney General James S. Gilmore III, who led the governor's commission, said both groups agreed on many changes to improve the current system.
``We will prevent, rescue and redirect when we can and where we can,'' he said. ``But we'll also punish when we have to.''
In an afternoon public hearing, about 20 people, including a former juvenile offender, a judge, a defense lawyer and representatives from churches and a bar association, voiced reservations about the plan.
Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney David Hicks said the proposal to automatically try the most serious offenders as adults would weaken a prosecutor's bargaining position: It would reduce the likelihood that juvenile offenders would be willing to cooperate against co-defendants.
Also, once a case is tried in Circuit Court, judges are unlikely to sentence offenders as juveniles, he said.
He also said prosecutors are likely to feel political pressure to choose adult court for offenders when presented with that option.
``I think potentially this legislation could severely undermine our law enforcement efforts,'' he said in an interview.
University of Richmond law professor Robert E. Shepherd Jr. said he is disappointed by the compromise version, which he said is different from the version he endorsed as a member of the Commission on Youth, the group led by Jones.
``My question is, `What did you get in return?' '' he said. The full meaning of the compromise is not yet clear since much could depend on funding, he said.
``Clearly we did not go as far as a lot of other states, but this is a slippery slope, and we're over the edge now,'' Shepherd said. For instance, in New York, juveniles as young as 12 can be tried as adults.
Shepherd also warned that the proposal will only boost already disproportionate numbers of minority youths who are convicted of crimes and locked up.
Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Charles Poston asked legislators to remember that the decision on whether to try a juvenile as an adult traditionally has been in the hands of ``impartial, dispassionate deciders of fact.'' Poston's position as a judge does not allow him to discuss many of his views on the proposed bill.
A 27-year-old man, who asked to be identified only as Michael, said he experienced the juvenile-justice system firsthand when he was convicted of 11 felonies at age 12. It wasn't until age 17, when he was sent to Elk Hill, a treatment program in Goochland, that he turned his life around, he said.
A native of Newport News, he said he graduated from college summa cum laude and is working as an accountant.
``They're losing sight of what's in the best interest of the child,'' he said. ``They want to convict these people and send them to prison. If they just gave each treatment facility $75,000, they could work miracles.''
Wednesday's compromise proposal came at the end of negotiations that began Dec. 30 in Richmond, where senators and delegates from both sides met with representatives of the governor and attorney general. The first agreement: to check the politics at the door.
Participants say that tenet stuck and that legislators showed a willingness to sacrifice some details in favor of a bill that most Assembly members will likely support.
Such political consensus-building has been a rarity in the state capital of late. Wednesday's deal is partly a result of the conciliatory mood born of the recent election, members say. But it also stemmed from a bipartisan conviction that the state's juvenile-justice system needed reform, one way or another.
``I hope people can see that this is a good example of the way you make good laws,'' Jones said.
``You bring people together who are knowledgeable, who have a stake in these things, who don't necessarily have the inherent biases of politics, and you come up with the best thing you can.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE BILL'S KEY PROVISIONS
Juveniles 14 and older charged with the most serious felonies,
such as murder, rape and aggravated malicious wounding, would
automatically be tried as adults in Circuit Court.
Juveniles 14 and older who commit other violent crimes, such as
robbery, car-jacking and felonious injury by mob could be tried in
adult court at the discretion of prosecutors.
Proceedings in Juvenile Court would be open to the public for
felony crimes.
Criminal history records would be open to the public in cases of
felony convictions.
Circuit judges would have the new option to sentence a juvenile
as an adult but suspend the adult sentence pending the successful
completion of a sentence in a juvenile facility or program. This
would give that juvenile a second chance to reform in a juvenile
program - but if the juvenile were to continue violent and
unacceptable behavior while in that program or facility, the adult
sentence could be imposed.
Juvenile judges also will have new sentencing options between
incarceration and release on probation, including boot camps.
COMMENT
George F. Allen
David Hicks, Richmond commonwealth's attorney
THE REGIONAL IMPACT
About half of the youths in Virginia committed to juvenile
correctional centers during the 1990s have come from Southeastern
Virginia, where fewer than one-third of the state's juveniles live.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
The proposal faces its first vote before the 15-member Senate
Courts of Justice Committee. Members probably will vote within
several days.
Next, the measure must be approved by the Senate Finance
Committee, because it calls for funding several prevention programs,
a new juvenile prison and salaries for prosecutors and counselors.
If approved by both committees, the measure would move to the full
Senate.
Members could amend the package anywhere along the way.
If the Senate approves, the process would start over in the House
of Delegates. Or, the House could start consideration of an
identical version immediately. The House Appropriations and Courts
of Justice committees would vote, then the full House.
If the chambers adopt different versions of the plan, a joint
conference committee would be named to reach a compromise and the
House and Senate would be asked to vote again. If both approve, the
governor could sign the measure into law.
KEYWORDS: JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM by CNB