Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-01-26
j. 5. Attorney
Supported on
Juvenile Trials
Low Enforcement
Council Would Shift
Decision to Rover
By Miriom Gutenberg

AANJp @UUAA>4 OAASA VAAS SASNAAAS
Court Judge, Che exclusive power
to decide whether juvenile of
tenders accused of serious crimes
should be tried in juvenile or
adult courts.
BY a 7-to-6 vote last night, the
council upheld the position Of
United States Attorney Leo A.
Rover, over the protests of Ju-
venile Court Judge Edith H.
Cockrill. Both are members Of
the council created by Congress
in the omnibus crime bill to i'm
prove law enforcement here.
The council acted only a few
hours after Representative
O'Hara, Republican, of Mime
sofa introduced a bill to give this
power to the United States at
torney. The bill probably will go
to the House District Judiciary
subcommittee, headed by Mr..
O'Hara.
Both the council proposal and
the O'Hara bill would provide for
a social study of the child by the
Juvenile Court staff. The United
States attorney would take this
into consideration before decid-
ing whether the accused should
be tried as an adult or a child.
Power Now With Court.
The council proposal and the
O'Hara bill apply to Is and IT.
year-olds accused Of felonies and
to juveniles of all ages accused
of capital crimes. Under pres
ent law, the Juvenile Court judge
may waive jurisdiction in these
cases but has been criticized for
not doing SO more often.
Last nights vote came on the
report of the councils committee
on juvenile crime, which had
recommended numerous changes
in law and procedure particu-
uarly affecting Juvenile Court.
There was one other split vote.
The committee had proposed
that the assistant corporation
counsel assigned to the court
play a much more important
role as IAN independent repre-
sentative of the interest of the
community in law. order and the
protection of life and property"
Specifically. the committee
recommended that the assistant
corporation counsel review all
complaints the social work de-
partment planned to close with
out presentation to the judge,
that he carry all recommended
tons for disposition of the cases
reaching the judge and make
different recommendations where
he thought the interest of the
community required it.
Vote Is Is to 1.
The council Endorsed this rec
ommendation by vote of Is to
]. Commissioner Samuel Spencer.
who reported the voting. said
the one was Judge Cockrill.
The councils Juvenile Crime
Committee had split on the
question that took the spotlight
last night-how best to deter
mine whether a child should be
tried as juvenile or adult.
All five committee members.
including Mr.. Rover, agreed the
prosecutor should have a voice
in the decision, now vested solely
in the Juvenile Court judge. The
majority of the five. however,
wanted to leave this power with
the judge, but give the prose-
cutor the right to recommend
and to ask for a review by the
chief judge of the Municipal
Court of Appeals if the prose-
cutor disagreed with the deci-
sion of the Juvenile Court judge.
The minority. composed of Mr..
Rover and Donald Clemmer. di-
rector of the Department Of
Corrections. considered that
method too cumbersome and
preferred to put the decision in
the prosecutors hands.
The council, when it came to
a vote after nearly an hour Of
debate behind closed doors. went
along with the minority of its
committee on juvenile crime.
How They Voted.
Voting to remove a power that
has been vested in the Juvenile
Court judge since 1888 we're:
Mr.. Rover, Chief of Police
Robert v. Murray. Chief of Park
Police Mark Raspberry, Corpora
ton Counsel Vernon E. West.
Chief Probation Officer Edward
w. Garrett, representing Federal
District Court: Parole Execu-
tive Hugh F.. Rivers and United
States Marshal w. Bruce Mat
theWS.
Voting against the minority
were commissioner
Spencer, Judge Cockrill. Walter
clerk of the Munich
pal Court; Newell W. Ellison.
representing the District Bar AS
ISOLATION and chairman of the
councils committee on juvenile
crime: Leroy H. Mckinney, rep
the Washington Bar
Association. and George c.
Clarke, president of the WASH
ington Criminal Justice Asso-
citation. The latter three had
the majority of the
Crime Committee.
United States Commissioner
Cyril Lawrence said he abstained
from voting because, after juve-
niles move into the jurisdiction
of the U S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, they may
come before him for preliminary
hearing
Mr.. Clemmer was the only
council member not present.
All other sections of the Juve-
nile crime committees report
we're approved as written except
that a recommendation to plug
in the law affecting