Opinion ID: 1677109
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: de facto transfer

Text: Pursuant to its constitutional authorization, the Legislature enacted the statute at issue. Notably, the Legislature did not enact a statute which tracked the language of the constitutional provision. Rather, three classes were created: (1) those fifteen and over charged with [3] first or second degree murder, manslaughter, or aggravated rape; (2) sixteen-year olds charged with armed robbery, aggravated burglary, and/or kidnapping; and (3) all others under seventeen accused of crime. State v. Leach, supra . La.R.S. 13:1570 is a jurisdictional statute, and the juvenile courts have been given jurisdiction only over those juveniles who do not fall within either of the first two categories above. The fifteen or sixteen year-old charged with one or more of these offenses is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the district courts. It is true that this court has held that until a bill of information is filed or a grand jury indictment returned against a juvenile, he is subject to juvenile rather than adult procedures. State v. Lacour, 398 So.2d 1129 (La.1981). Defendants contend that, this being the case, there is a de facto transfer of jurisdiction when the district attorney files a bill of information charging, as in these cases, commission of armed robbery. They argue that the statute which permits this effective transfer by bill of information is unconstitutional because it does not set forth guidelines or standards which the district attorney must follow in deciding whether to charge by bill of information or by seeking an indictment. Defendants argue that this result is dictated by Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966). In Kent the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the transfer of a sixteen-year-old into the adult system by the juvenile court because there had been no hearing and the court had stated no reasons for the transfer. The decision in Kent, however, was based upon the rule of non-criminal treatment of juveniles evinced by the Juvenile Court Act of the District of Columbia: The theory of the District's Juvenile Court Act, like that of other jurisdictions, is rooted in social welfare philosophy rather than in the corpus juris. Its proceedings are designated as civil rather than criminal. The Juvenile Court is theoretically engaged in determining the needs of the child and of society rather than adjudicating criminal conduct. The objectives are to provide measures of guidance and rehabilitation for the child and protection for society, not to fix criminal responsibility, guilt and punishment. The State is parens patriae rather than prosecuting attorney and judge. 383 U.S. at 554, 86 S.Ct. at 1054 (footnotes omitted). The statute in question in Kent vested original and exclusive jurisdiction over the child in the juvenile courts, with provisions for transfer proceedings. [4] This jurisdiction conferred upon juveniles special rights and protections including being shielded from publicity and confinement with adults, and juveniles could be detained only until the age of 21. Based on these and other statutory preferences, the Court noted: It is clear beyond dispute that the waiver of jurisdiction is a `critically important' action determining vitally important statutory rights of the juvenile. 383 U.S. 541, 556, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 1055. For this reason, the Court concluded that a hearing and a statement of reasons were necessary to meet the constitutional requirements of due process. The situation in the case at bar, however, is easily distinguishable from that in Kent. In this case, there are no statutory rights of which defendants are being deprived. Once a sixteen-year-old is charged with armed robbery, the question is not one of transfer of jurisdiction. Rather, the juvenile court is automatically divested of jurisdiction. This divestiture is not a matter of discretion on the part of the juvenile court or the district attorney, but is controlled by the statute defining the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts, La.R.S. 13:1570 A(5). Since the defendants are not being deprived of important statutory rights, the question is not one of due process, but of whether La.R.S. 13:1570 A(5) is a valid exercise of the State's police powers. We have already held that classifications by age and seriousness of the offense are not arbitrary or capricious, and that the classifications bear a rational relationship to the legitimate state interest of protecting the public from serious, violent felonies. State v. Leach, supra . Further, since the legislative intent is clearly that those fifteen and sixteen year olds charged with the enumerated offenses be treated in all respects as adults, we see no reason to depart from the rule that the district attorney has entire charge and control of every criminal prosecution instituted and pending in his district, and determines whom, when and how he shall prosecute. La.C.Cr.P. art. 61; State v. Collins, 242 La. 704, 138 So.2d 546 (La. 1962); see also, Hall v. City of New Orleans, 385 So.2d 1253 (La.App. 4th Cir.1980), writ denied, 393 So.2d 739 (La.1980).