Opinion ID: 1768154
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Heading: Use of the confession at the juvenile proceedings.

Text: KRS 640.010 grants district courts the power to transfer juvenile offenders to circuit court for trial as an adult. For those juveniles who fall within the purview of KRS 635.020, the district judge must hold a preliminary hearing to determine if, inter alia, probable cause exists that a serious offense was committed and that the juvenile committed it. KRS 640.010(2). P.J. argues that, at the time of transfer, the only evidence linking him to the crime was his brother's confession, absent which there would have existed insufficient evidence of probable cause to justify the transfer. The confession was inadmissible at trial because, as it pertained to P. J., it was hearsay. However, a transfer hearing is not a trial and less stringent evidentiary standards apply. KRS 640.010 specifically requires that [t]he preliminary hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Criminal Procedure. RCr 3.14(2) states that determinations of probable cause may be based upon hearsay evidence in whole or in part. And at the heart of a district court's decision to transfer a youthful offender to circuit court is probable cause that the incident occurred and that the juvenile committed it. Furthermore, KRE 1101(d) lists those situations in which the Kentucky Rules of Evidence do not apply and preliminary hearings in criminal cases is one such exception. The vast majority of our sister states also allow the use of hearsay in juvenile transfer proceedings on the premise that the transferring court does not determine guilt or innocence but merely evaluates whether the juvenile should be tried as an adult. In the Matter of S.J.M., 922 S.W.2d 241, 241 (Tex.App.1996). See also Matter of Pima County, 26 Ariz.App. 46, 546 P.2d 23, 25 (1976); In re W.J., 284 Ill.App.3d 203, 219 Ill.Dec. 925, 672 N.E.2d 778, 782 (1996); Moore v. State, 723 N.E.2d 442, 448 (Ind.Ct.App.2000); M. Hill, Applicability of Rules of Evidence to Juvenile Transfer, Waiver, or Certification Hearings, 37 A.L.R.5th 703, 719-20 (1996) (noting that only three jurisdictionsAlaska, Connecticut and South Dakotaprohibit the use of hearsay evidence in juvenile transfer hearings). Therefore, though Michael's confession was inadmissible at trial, the district judge was not precluded from considering it for the purpose of determining that there was probable cause to transfer P.J. to circuit court.