North Carolina accompanies New York as one of two states that still automatically prosecute all 16 and 17-year-olds in the adult court system, without regard to the type of crime the teen is charged with. A bill in the N.C. legislature is hoping to change the law so no one under 18 could be prosecuted as an adult for nonviolent misdemeanors.
Brandy Bynum, a spokesperson for Action for Children N.C., said 80 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds who find themselves in trouble with the law are involved in minor, misdemeanor-level offenses.
“These minor offenses have permanent marks on these young peoples’ criminal records. When they go on to apply to higher education or employment, even housing, that mark on their record could bar them from those opportunities,” Bynum said. “We as an organization obviously think that is bad public policy on the part of our state.”
Teresa Shirley, an advocate for the Raise the Age issue and a mother personally affected by the current law, said the law doesn’t make sense because an offense as small as littering could end up following a teen for the rest of his or her life.
“In North Carolina, a judge has the ability to try a young person as young as 13 in the adult system if they wish. But if you have a 16-year-old who commits a misdemeanor, they’re automatically put into the adult system and there’s no way to put them back into the juvenile system,” Shirley said.
Shirley, a mother of three, said she did not know about the law until her daughter got into a pushing match at school one day. The incident ended with her daughter handcuffed in a police car on the way to the county jail to sit in a holding cell with adult offenders.
“[The law] discriminates against young people in our state. It’s like a scarlet letter. You can get some of the charges expunged in some cases, but that’s costly,” Shirley said. “You have a lot of minority children who are being affected by this and also children who have some type of behavioral issue… who tend to get into a little more trouble. It’s really handicapping these kids in their future.”
Bynum said the law has been in place in North Carolina since 1919, though several attempts have been made in the past to raise the age at which misdemeanants under 18 are charged as adults. According to Bynum, kids know right from wrong, but make impulsive decisions. She wants them to be able to learn from their mistakes.
“We’re not saying let these kids off scot-free, but we’re saying at least give them a chance to turn themselves around in the system that is appropriate for them,” Bynum said. “We want them to become tax-payers and not tax-burdens. This is something that affects all of us.”
Shirley agrees the consequences of an arrest record for a 16- or 17-year-old could be devastating for their future.
“We’re choosing the most expensive way with the worst possible outcome for these kids, when we’re supposed to be thinking of the kids first and foremost,” Shirley said. “They’re kind of getting lost in this whole system because we’re not stopping and asking ‘wait, what’s this going to do to this kid on down the line?’”
Katelyn Long, who graduated from N.C. State this May with degrees in criminology and international studies, said she is in favor of the bill.
“Trying 16 and 17 year olds in a juvenile court is best for all sides, I believe, and I was somewhat surprised that it was not already the case,” Long said. “Teenagers that age, and even older, are still in the stage where they make stupid mistakes, are heavily influenced by their peers and are just often rebellious. Trying misdemeanors in juvenile court offers them a better chance of realizing their mistakes and a better support system for moving beyond those mistakes.”
Long said youth can get lost in the adult court system, which is already strained beyond capacity. The juvenile system requires involvement from the family and continued education and can provide counseling and rehabilitation opportunities.
An adult criminal record, even for a misdemeanor, would have a damaging effect on a teen’s ability to increase their potential in the higher education system or in the job market, according to Long.
“A record can be especially harmful to college applicants who come from underprivileged backgrounds and don’t have the extracurricular experiences or persuasive references that can overshadow a misdemeanor conviction. If the young ‘criminal’ can find an employer to take a chance on him/her, it is often an underpaying position with little room for growth,” Long said.
Long said these teens are also often stigmatized by the community and don’t have the same opportunities as those who were able to go through the juvenile system in order to succeed and provide for themselves and their families.
The bill currently making its way through the legislature would require a four-year planning period with an incremental phase-in approach if passed. The bill would only affect misdemeanors–all felonies and traffic violations would remain in the adult court system.