House Bill 1208: CONCERNING JUVENILES AGAINST WHOM CHARGES ARE DIRECTLY FILED AGAINST IN DISTRICT COURT
Background
Under current Colorado law, a district attorney has the power to charge a juvenile as young as 14 years old as an adult for certain crimes. This is known as “direct file”. If convicted in adult court, the juvenile is sentenced as an adult and, if incarcerated, will serve time in adult prison. In the past, before a juvenile could be charged as an adult, the juvenile court would have to conduct a “transfer hearing” to determine whether it was appropriate to charge the juvenile as an adult.
What HB 1208 does
· Raises the minimum age from 14 to 16 for juveniles that can be direct filed on into adult court.
· Would allow the adult court to conduct a “reverse transfer hearing” to determine whether the case should be tried in adult or juvenile court. If the judge determines that the case should be tried in juvenile court, then the case is transferred to juvenile court.
· Disqualifies certain crimes from being considered for direct file, including: vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. (these are defined in statute as acts of recklessness not intentional crimes)
· Permits the court to sentence a juvenile (charged as an adult) to the Youthful Offender System in the Department of Corrections for a Class 2 felony.
· Allows the adult court to sentence a juvenile to a juvenile sentence even if convicted in adult court if it is determined to be in the best interest of the child or community.
Upcoming Vote
HB 1208 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee and will be voted on by all members of the House of Representatives on Friday morning. (3/7/08).
Sponsors
Representative Levy (with cosponsors: Carroll T., Green, Kefalas, Labuda, Merrifield, Weissmann, Benefield, Butcher, Carroll M., Jahn, Judd, Kerr Al, Madden, Marshall, and Solano)
Senator Shaffer (with cosponsors: Bacon, Gordon, Hagedorn, Morse, and Tapia)
This action alert comes from the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association that has been leading the support of HB 1208.
Please call your House representative today and ask them to support House Bill 08-1208, Limitations on Direct File. WE PARTICULARLY NEED YOU TO CALL THE REPRESENTATIVES IN BOLD.
Please forward this email to anyone across the state that might be interested in supporting the bill. The state attorney general and prosecutors oppose the bill because they believe they should be the sole party making the decision –instead of a judge after a hearing where both sides present evidence– as to whether a kid is charged as an adult and they are pressuring the democrats hard. If you agree with this bill, we really need your support.
(CCJRC Note: HB 1208 has a number of cosponsors in the House in addition to Rep. Levy, the bill sponsor. If you contact one of the co-sponsors, please thank them for their support.)
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Debbie Benefield (Dist. 29, Jefferson) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2950 |
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Alice Borodkin (Dist. 9, Denver) |
Cap: 303-866-2910 |
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Bernie Buescher (Dist. 15, Mesa) |
Cap: 303-866-2583 |
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Dorothy Butcher (Dist. 46, Pueblo) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2968 |
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Morgan Carroll (Dist. 36, Arapahoe) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2942 |
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Terrance Carroll (Dist. 7, Denver) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2909 |
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Edward Casso (Dist. 32, Adams) |
Cap: 303-866-2964 |
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Kathleen Curry (Dist. 61, Eagle) |
Cap: 303-866-2945 |
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Mark Ferrandino (Dist. 2, Denver) |
Cap: 303-866-2911 |
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Randy Fischer (Dist. 53, Larimer) |
Cap: 303-866-2917 |
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Jerry Frangas (Dist.4, Denver) |
Cap: 303-866-2954 |
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Sara Gagliardi (Dist. 27, Jefferson) |
Cap: 303-866-2962 |
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Rafael Gallegos (Dist. 62, Alamosa) |
Cap: 303-866-2916- No email available |
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Gwen Green (Dist. 23, Jefferson) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2951 |
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Mary Hodge (Dist. 30, Adams) |
Cap: 303-866-2912 |
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Cheri Jahn (Dist. 24, Jefferson) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-5522 |
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Joel Judd (Dist. 5, Denver) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2925 |
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John Kefalas (Dist. 52, Larimer) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-4569 |
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Andy Kerr (Dist. 26, Jefferson) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2923 |
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Jeanne Labuda (Dist.1, Arapahoe) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2966 |
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Claire Levy (Dist. 13, Boulder) SPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2578 |
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Alice Madden (Dist. 10, Boulder) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2348 |
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Rosemary Marshall (Dist. 8, Denver) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2959 |
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Buffie McFadyen (Dist. 47, Fremont) |
Cap: 303-866-2905 |
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Anne McGihon (Dist. 3, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-2921 |
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Wes McKinley (Dist. 64, Baca) |
Cap: 303-866-2398 |
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Michael Merrifield (Dist. 18, El Paso) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2932 |
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Karen Middleton (Dist. 42, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-3911 |
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Cherylin Peniston (Dist. 35, Adams) |
Cap: 303-866-2843 |
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Jack Pommer (Dis. 11, Boulder) |
Cap: 303-866-2780 |
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Dianne Primavera (Dis. 33, Adams) |
Cap: 303-866-4667 |
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Joe Rice (Dist. 38, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-2953 |
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Jim Riesberg (Dist. 50, Weld) |
Cap: 303-866-2929 |
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Andrew Romanoff (Dist. 6, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-2346 |
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Christine Scanlan (Dist. 56, Eagle) |
Cap: 303-866-2952 |
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Judy Solano (Dist. 31, Adams) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2918 |
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John Soper (Dist. 34, Adams) |
Cap: 303-866-2931 |
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Debbie Stafford (Dist. 40, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-2944 |
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Nancy Todd (Dist. 41, Arapahoe) |
Cap: 303-866-2919 |
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Paul Weissmann (Dist. 12, Boulder) COSPONSOR |
Cap: 303-866-2920 |
The following organizations condemn statutes that allow juveniles be charged as adults without an individualized assessment and hearing:
Alliance for Children and Families American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Bar Association American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry
American Correctional Association American Probation and Parole Association
National Association of Counties Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators
American Youth Policy Forum Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice
National Parent Teacher Association National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Children’s Defense Fund National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
Church Women United Child Welfare League of America
National CURE Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Coalition for Juvenile Justice Council for Children with Behavior Disorders
Covenant House Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
Justice Policy Institute National Association of School Psychologists
National Youth Employment Coalition National Association of Social Workers
Society for Adolescent Medicine National Network of State Juvenile Justice Collaborations
National Mental Health Association National Collaboration for Youth
National HIRE Network Presbyterian Church USA
Physicians for Human Rights United Church of Christ and Witness Ministries
Juvenile Law Center National Juvenile Defender Center
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Opposes Charging Juveniles as Adults:
We bishops cannot support policies that treat young offenders as though they are adults… society must never respond to children who have committed crimes as though they are somehow equal to adults—fully formed in conscience and fully aware of their actions. Placing children in adult jails is a sign of failure, not a solution…
Additionally, the following people & organizations support HB 08-1208:
Colorado Children’s Campaign Colorado Association of Family and Children’s Agencies
The Arc of Colorado National Association of Counsel for Children
The Arc of Denver Colorado League of Women Voters
Colorado ACLU Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition
Dr. Delbert Elliot Violence Intervention and Prevention Center, Colo. Springs
Center for Safe Schools Angela Engel, Project Director, Children’s Action Agenda
1 response so far ↓
Elevated Voices - Gov. Ritter Signs Restorative Juvenile Justice Bill // March 31, 2008 at 2:30 pm |
[...] is available here.Now we need for the Colorado Senate to follow the lead of the House and pass H.R. 1208 which would allow judges to review prosecutorial decisions to charge juveniles as adults and raise [...]