| Senator Judith G. Freedman (R-26)
today voted in favor of making reforms to the juvenile
justice reform system that, among other things, permits
Superior Court judges to transfer cases involving 16-
and 17-year olds to juvenile court.
This legislation (SB 337, An Act Concerning Juvenile
Justice) is subject to further action by the House of
Representatives. If passed, the legislation would take
effect on January 1, 2010.
“As a member of the Juvenile Justice Commission
who worked on these issues for the past six years, I
know passing this legislation is what we need to do.
Young teens who commit the most serious crimes, class
A and class B felonies, will still be tried as adults,
but 16- and 17-year olds who commit less serious crimes
will have the opportunity to receive the necessary services
to prevent them from getting into more serious trouble.
Sixteen and seventeen year olds do not belong in an
adult courtroom. It is in the best interest of teenagers,
and the best interest of society, to help these young
people become law abiding adults,” said Senator
Freedman, who also worked to pass the existing state
law making it harder for teenagers to leave high school
before graduation, or age 18.
Additional highlights of the legislation include:
revising the definition of delinquent offense and narrowing
the definition of serious juvenile offense; making it
a delinquent act for a child to deliberately fail to
appear in juvenile court; eliminating juvenile court
jurisdiction over emancipated minors; permitting police
to release arrested children into their own custody;
limiting the use of pretrial detention; making the violation
of conditions of a suspended detention order a basis
for detaining a child awaiting trial; establishing pretrial
diversion programs for children accused of certain offenses;
modifying and expanding vocational probation options;
expanding the availability of record erasure for children
under certain specific conditions; eliminating a mandate
that juvenile court judges impose a statutory fine on
youngsters convicted as delinquents for unlawfully possessing
alcohol that would otherwise take effect January 1,
2010.
“This legislation is designed to give 16- and
17-year olds who have made a mistake the chance to get
needed services that will keep them out of our prisons.
It is not intended to – nor will it – be
a way for serious, violent, young criminals to avoid
our adult courts just because of their young age. This
is about turning young lives around in a positive way,
and I am proud of my role in helping to pass this important
legislation,” said Senator Freedman.
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