Opinion ID: 2639110
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the Juvenile Court Proceeding Used to Authorize Prosecution as an Adult Violate Apprendi and Gould?

Text: Next, Mays argues that the juvenile court proceeding used to authorize his prosecution as an adult violated the principles set out in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 147 L.Ed.2d 435, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (2000), and State v. Gould, 271 Kan. 394, 23 P.3d 801 (2001), because it resulted in an increased sentence based upon facts not submitted to a jury or proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Mays acknowledges that his argument was rejected by this court in Jones, 273 Kan. at 777-78, but raises the issue to preserve it for future review in the federal courts. The Jones court held that the Kansas procedure for authorizing adult prosecution under K.S.A. 38-1636 does not violate the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. 273 Kan. at 778. The court explained that while Apprendi involved a trial court making a factual finding to support sentencing a defendant beyond the statutory maximum, K.S.A. 38-1636 does not involve guilt or innocence but only the determination of which system is appropriate for a juvenile offender. 273 Kan. at 778. The juvenile who is tried as an adult will be subject to the statutory maximum sentence only after a jury determines guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, the procedural safeguards of the juvenile justice system are sufficient to support a determination that certification proceedings under K.S.A. 38-1636 fall outside the dictates of Apprendi. Jones, 273 Kan. 756, Syl. ¶¶ 5 and 6. Our application of Apprendi in Gould does not require a different result. Mays' argument is without merit.