Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/11pdf/10-9646.pdf
Page Number: 29.0

Cite as:  567 U. S. ____ (2012) 

25 

Opinion of the Court 

op.,  at  16).    That  Alabama  and  Arkansas  can  count  to  29 
by  including  these  possibly  (or  probably)  inadvertent 
legislative  outcomes  does  not  preclude  our  determination
that  mandatory  life  without  parole  for  juveniles  violates 
the Eighth Amendment. 

B 
Nor does the presence of discretion in some jurisdictions’ 
transfer  statutes  aid  the  States  here.    Alabama  and  Ar-
kansas  initially  ignore  that  many  States  use  mandatory 
transfer  systems:  A  juvenile  of  a  certain  age  who  has 
committed  a  specified  offense  will  be  tried  in  adult  court, 
regardless  of  any  individualized  circumstances.    Of  the 
29  relevant  jurisdictions,  about  half  place  at  least  some 
juvenile  homicide  offenders  in  adult  court  automatically,
with  no  apparent  opportunity  to  seek  transfer  to  juvenile 
court.15  Moreover, several States at times lodge this deci-
sion  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  prosecutors,  again  with
no  statutory  mechanism  for  judicial  reevaluation.16    And  
those  “prosecutorial  discretion  laws  are  usually  silent
regarding  standards,  protocols,  or  appropriate  considera-
tions for decisionmaking.”  Dept. of Justice, Office of Juve-
nile  Justice  and  Delinquency  Prevention,  P.  Griffin,  S. 
Addie,  B.  Adams,  &  K.  Firestine,  Trying  Juveniles  as 
—————— 

15 See  Ala.  Code  §12–15–204(a)  (Cum.  Supp.  2011);  Ariz.  Rev.  Stat. 
Ann.  §13–501(A)  (West  Cum.  Supp.  2011);  Conn.  Gen.  Stat.  §46b–127
(2011);  Ill.  Comp.  Stat.  ch.  705,  §§405/5–130(1)(a),  (4)(a)  (West  2010);
La. Child. Code Ann., Art. 305(A) (West Cum. Supp. 2012); Mass. Gen. 
Laws,  ch.  119,  §74  (West  2010);  Mich.  Comp.  Laws  Ann.  §712A.2(a) 
(West 2002); Minn. Stat. Ann. §260B.007, subd. 6(b) (West Cum. Supp. 
2011), §260B.101, subd. 2 (West 2007); Mo. Rev. Stat. §§211.021(1), (2)
(2011);  N.  C.  Gen.  Stat.  Ann.  §§7B–1501(7),  7B–1601(a),  7B–2200 
(Lexis  2011);  N.  H.  Rev.  Stat.  Ann.  §169–B:2(IV)  (West  Cum.  Supp.
2011),  §169–B:3  (West  2010);  Ohio  Rev.  Code  Ann.  §2152.12(A)(1)(a)
(Lexis  2011);  Tex.  Family  Code  Ann.  §51.02(2);  Va.  Code  Ann.  §§16.1–
241(A), 16.1–269.1(B), (D) (Lexis 2010). 

16 Fla.  Stat.  Ann.  §985.557(1)  (West  Supp.  2012);  Mich.  Comp.  Laws

Ann. §712A.2(a)(1); Va. Code Ann. §§16.1–241(A), 16.1–269.1(C), (D).