Opinion ID: 1111546
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the lower court erred in declining to transfer appellant to the youth court and to quash the indictment.

Text: On May 7, 1986, the day after the homicide, the Cleveland Police Department filed a petition in the Youth Court of the Second Judicial District of Bolivar County to detain appellant. He had been arrested and was already in custody at that time. The Youth Court summarily issued a custody order authorizing the detention of appellant. On May 8, the Youth Court entered an order to the effect that it had no jurisdiction over appellant. All subsequent proceedings against appellant were brought in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District of Bolivar County. Appellant filed a motion to quash the indictment and transfer the appellant to Youth Court. At the pretrial hearing, the Youth Court judge testified that a Cleveland police officer presented the May 7 Petition to Detain at the judge's house and that the judge there issued the detention order. Appellant was neither present nor represented by counsel, the judge made no inquiry as to the particulars of the matter, and no sworn statement was offered by the officer. The youth court judge answered, My consideration is that I found I had no jurisdiction to begin with; it was not a transfer order within the transfer statute. Appellant contends his case was not properly within the jurisdiction of the circuit court and that his conviction is therefore void. Mississippi Code Annotated § 43-21-151 (1972) sets forth the jurisdiction of the Youth Court: The Youth Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in all proceedings concerning a delinquent child, a child in need of supervision, a neglected child, an abused child, or a dependent child. MCA § 43-21-105(i), (j) (Supp. 1986) further delineates the jurisdiction of the Youth Court: (i) Delinquent child means a child who has reached his tenth birthday and who has committed a delinquent act. (j) Delinquent act is any act, which if committed by an adult, is designated as a crime under state or federal law, or municipal or county ordinance other than offense punishable by life imprisonment or death. A delinquent act includes escape from lawful detention. Appellant was charged with murder, a crime punishable by life imprisonment. Without question, murder is a crime excepted from the jurisdiction of the Youth Court. The circuit court had the exclusive jurisdiction over appellant for disposal of the murder charge. Johnson v. State, 512 So.2d 1246 (Miss. 1987); Winters v. State, 473 So.2d 452 (Miss. 1985); Bougon v. State, 405 So.2d 101 (Miss. 1981). The assigned error is rejected.