Law Has Not Led to More Adult Trials for Juveniles

A 17-year-old attempts to rob a homeowner at gunpoint and is wounded by Huntington Beach police officers after pointing his weapon at them.

A perfect test case for a new law making it easier for prosecutors to charge juveniles as adults? Not exactly.

Despite predictions to the contrary, the tough new juvenile-justice initiative approved by state voters in March has had little effect on the way teenage crime suspects are treated in Orange County.

Orange County prosecutors have used their power to file juvenile cases in adult court in roughly 5% of eligible cases, they said.

And while Proposition 21 has led to heated challenges in other counties, defense attorneys praise Orange County prosecutors for the discretion they have exercised.

Since the initiative passed, local prosecutors have sent roughly 10 of more than 200 eligible cases directly to adult court, said Orange County Assistant Dist. Atty. Jim Tanizaki. By contrast, Los Angeles County is expected to have as much as a 25% increase this year in the number of teens charged in adult court.

Orange County prosecutors said the office’s goal in juvenile prosecutions is both rehabilitation and preserving public safety. So it makes no sense to push all eligible teenagers into adult court, he said.

“We have to use our discretion in a prudent way that serves the best interests of our community, keeping in mind that public safety is No. 1,” Tanizaki said. The office files charges directly into adult court only in “the real serious juvenile offense, what I call the no-brainers,” he said.

In the case of the 17-year-old, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder said that because the youth didn’t fire the weapon, prosecutors thought a Juvenile Court judge should first review the boy’s case.

The youth--a Russian exchange student--allegedly took a handgun from the home where he was staying, walked to a neighbor’s home and demanded to be allowed inside. The boy was not permitted inside the house, and police arrived quickly. An officer shot the boy in the leg when he took aim at him, authorities said.

The stakes are extraordinary for juvenile offenders. If convicted in Juvenile Court, an offender can be imprisoned only until age 25, and in most instances they are housed at youth camps. In adult court, offenders can be sentenced to prison for life.

The first juvenile offender charged directly as an adult in Orange County since the law took effect was Carlos Sanchez, then 16, accused of fatally wounding a 67-year-old Santa Ana woman during a drive-by shooting in April.

According to police, Sanchez and two fellow gang members were targeting a rival gang when they opened fire on a group gathered for a frontyard barbecue. One of bullets tore through a screen door and hit the victim in the head.

“We will file in adult court on juveniles if we find the crime so serious or so violent that we’re not going to waste our time in Juvenile Court,” Tanizaki said. “Those are the worst of the worst offenders and offenses.”

Under California law, juveniles as young as 14 can be prosecuted in adult court for serious or violent felonies. Before Proposition 21, California prosecutors had to ask a judge to send a juvenile into the adult system. Now prosecutors can make the call themselves, though adult court judges have the power to send a case back to Juvenile Court if they feel that is warranted.

Tanizaki said his office was already seeking adult trials for juveniles who prosecutors feel deserve such treatment, so the new law didn’t require much change.

Defense attorneys said they are pleasantly surprised by what they consider the fair-minded and judicious way prosecutors have handled their new powers.

“They’re clearly [charging juveniles as adults] not nearly as often as they could,” said one Orange County criminal defense lawyer who requested anonymity.