Opinion ID: 2538536
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Idaho Law

Text: Section 18-216(1) of the Idaho Code establishes that a person may not be tried for or convicted of a criminal offense if (a) At the time of the conduct charged to constitute the offense he was less than fourteen (14) years of age.... This section further sets forth that jurisdiction may only be waived from a juvenile court to a district court if that person is between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years old. I.C. § 18-216(1)(b). Furthermore, I.C. § 18-216(2) states: No court shall have jurisdiction to try or convict a person of an offense if criminal proceedings against him are barred by subsection (1) of this section. Based on this statute, the district court's ability to enter convictions against Kavajecz is called into question where Kavajecz was under the age of fourteen during most of the period of alleged sexual contact. On appeal, the State has argued that jurisdiction over Kavajecz is a subject matter jurisdiction issue. The State asserts that where both the district court and the magistrate's division have subject matter jurisdiction over minors and the district court has been given original jurisdiction by the Idaho Constitution over criminal acts, the district court cannot be denied jurisdiction over Kavajecz by the legislature. While admittedly the statutes quoted above refer to the jurisdiction of a court over a juvenile or the waiver of that jurisdiction, there is no question that both the district court and the magistrate's division have subject matter jurisdiction over juveniles. There is simply a difference in procedures and sentencing options depending upon whether the juvenile's case is being handled under the JCA or under the adult felony statutes. The argument about jurisdiction between juvenile and adult court does not address the real issue here of whether the juvenile can even be charged or convicted of a crime. It is uniformly held that the power to define crime and fix punishment therefore rests with the legislature .... Malloroy v. State, 91 Idaho 914, 915, 435 P.2d 254, 255 (1967). I.C. § 18-216 is the legislature's determination of who is capable of committing a crime. This statute provides that a minor under the age of fourteen cannot be tried for or convicted of an offense which would otherwise be a criminal act if committed by someone over the age of fourteen. The only exception to that is provided by I.C. § 20-509. There, the legislature lists nine serious crimes or categories of crimes for which a minor under the age of fourteen may be criminally tried as an adult if waived into district court pursuant to I.C. § 20-508. Lewd conduct with a minor under the age of sixteen is not an enumerated offense under I.C. § 20-509 for which Kavajecz could have been tried as an adult. Because it was not determined at trial if the acts for which Kavajecz was convicted occurred when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and where the evidence appears to indicate that the majority of these acts occurred when Kavajecz was thirteen, we vacate all of Kavajecz's convictions and remand his case back to the district court for a new trial, including a determination of whether Kavajecz could be convicted of any crime depending on when these acts took place. Although this Court is vacating Kavajecz's convictions, we will address two additional issues raised in Kavajecz's appeal which may have implications on further proceedings.