From the patter in Raleigh, you could get the idea that reformers want to rig the criminal justice system so that no one under age 18 is ever tried as an adult. Not even close.
Under existing law, children as young as 13 may be tried in adult court if a judge approves; and that wouldn’t change under the proposed revision to last year’s bipartisan overhaul.
What would change is that defendants aged 16 and 17 would no longer automatically be tried as adults. Those charged with nonviolent crimes could be diverted to juvenile court, an approach that has several things to commend it. It would cost less. It would ease pressure on crowded prisons. There is evidence suggesting that those tried in juvenile court are less likely to become repeat offenders than those tried as adults. There can be long-term benefits for the teens, as well, but feel free to focus on the benefits to the taxpayers.
Some lawmakers and lawmen object to adding to the juvenile courts’ case loads. Sorry; that’s last year’s argument. In fact, we’ve had well over a year to acknowledge that sending teens to adult court is not always how you get the biggest bang for your law enforcement buck, and to begin the necessary adjustments.
The surviving reason for not initiating the transition now is political cowardice.