Delinquency In Juvenile Court

In Tennessee, a juvenile can be transferred from juvenile court to adult court after a petition is filed alleging delinquency based on conduct that is a crime under Tennessee law, local ordinances, or the Court. A hearing is held to determine if the child is sixteen years of age at the time of the alleged crime or if the child is less than sixteen years old. If the child is less than sixteen years old, then for the transfer hearing to move forward the child has to be charged with a serious offense. Those crimes include "first-degree murder, second-degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping or especially aggravated kidnapping or an attempt to commit
any such offenses” (T.C.A. 37-1-134). A hearing must be held to decide whether a transfer will occur under T.C.A’s 37-1-124, 37-1-126 and 37-1-127” (T.C.A. 37-1-134). The children’s parents, guardian, or another custodian will be provided at least three days’ notice of the hearing in writing indicating the time, place, and purpose of the hearing. After the hearing the court must find there are sufficient grounds to believe the child committed the offense, the “child not committable to an institution for the developmentally disabled or mentally ill” and it is in the interest of the community “the child be put under legal restraint or discipline” (T.C.A. 37-1-134).
A juvenile court will consider the child’s prior delinquency history, including any past treatments efforts and how the child responded. The court will also determine whether the offense was a crime against a person or property (more weight in favor if against a person) (T.C.A. 37-1-134). Next, the court will determine if the crime was completed in an aggravated or premeditated way and if there is a chance of rehabilitation. One of the last things a court looks at is whether the child’s actions are associated with a criminal gang offense under Tennessee law (T.C.A. 37-1-134). After being transferred, the juvenile the child will be dealt with as an adult. If the child is found to be innocent, or if the charge that the juvenile is transferred on is dismissed then juvenile court shall retain jurisdiction over that child. If a person eighteen years or older is charged with an offense that supposedly occurred before them becoming eighteen, then the charges have to brought in juvenile court. Any statements the child makes in juvenile court during the transfer hearing is not admissible in any hearing outside juvenile
court. As a State Senator, the current law explicitly states what crimes children under the age of sixteen can be transferred for and those crimes which are very serious under state law.
Nevertheless, if a person is sixteen and older, they can be moved to adult court for less severe offenses like possession for resale of marijuana which is a class E felony in Tennessee, the lowest classification of a felony. The current system requires the court to determine many factors before agreeing to transfer a child to an adult court. So the current procedure is satisfactory. In my jurisdiction, the majority of juvenile transfer hearings on occurring when the alleged criminal activity is too dangerous to ignore and requires law enforcement and the judicial system to weight the safety of the
public.