Opinion ID: 696597
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Appropriate Evidentiary Standard

Text: 17 Finally, defendant argues that the District Court erred by failing to apply the clear and convincing standard to the transfer determination. This Court has not previously addressed the appropriate evidentiary standard to be applied to transfer determinations. The three circuits to address this issue, however, have all held that the preponderance of the evidence standard should be used. See United States v. Parker, 956 F.2d 169, 171 (8th Cir.1992); United States v. A.R., 38 F.3d 699, 703 (3d Cir.1994); United States v. Doe, 49 F.3d 859, 868 (2d Cir.1995). We agree. The clear and convincing standard is inconsistent with the civil nature of the transfer hearing: 18 A transfer hearing under the [FJDA] is not a criminal proceeding designed to explore the defendant's guilt or innocence. That question is to be determined by means of the eventual trial, regardless of whether the court concludes that the defendant should be tried as an adult or as a juvenile. Nor does the hearing under the Act affect whether the defendant will be confined, either prior to or after trial. We thus consider the [transfer] proceedings to be quite different from proceedings in which the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard is appropriate. 19 Doe, 49 F.3d at 868 (citations omitted). The clear and convincing standard is also incompatible with the discretionary nature of the transfer determination, which involves balancing the often conflicting goals of promoting juvenile rehabilitation and protecting the public safety. See One Juvenile Male, 40 F.3d at 844.