Opinion ID: 763084
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Social Background

Text: 16 We next address Anthony Y.'s assertion that the district court erred in finding his social background and his role in the murders weighed in favor of a transfer to adult status. The court found that Anthony Y.'s family background was unstable and unsupportive, rec., vol. I, doc. 85 at 9, citing the testimony of Anthony's parents and school principal. It then weighed this factor in favor of transfer, noting Dr. Roger Enfield's opinion that juveniles sometimes become recidivists because they return to the same home environments in which they originally became law breakers. Id. Dr. Enfield, who opposed transfer, made this statement in order to explain that treatment facilities re-directing juvenile delinquents away from their home environments had significant success rates. Because of the context of Dr. Enfield's statement, Anthony Y. claims the court misappropriated this testimony. Aplt. Br. at 34. We are not persuaded. While the overall tenor of Dr. Enfield's testimony disfavored transfer, the district court could reasonably rely on that particular statement in finding that it would be more difficult to rehabilitate a child with an unsupportive family than a child with a stable, supportive one. Anthony Y. also argues that this finding could cut both ways, Aplt. Br. at 33, because a juvenile from an unstable background might flourish in a rehabilitative setting. That certainly is a possibility. Under our deferential standard of review, however, we do not evaluate whether we would have made a different finding in the first instance, nor do we reverse adequately supported findings simply because the evidence is subject to multiple interpretations. See Leon, D.M., 132 F.3d at 591. Rather, we decide whether the district court abused its discretion. Id. at 590. Because sufficient evidence supported the district court's findings and conclusions regarding Anthony Y.'s social background, we hold that it acted within its discretion in concluding that this factor weighed in favor of transfer to adult status.