Opinion ID: 783023
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of Apprendi to Transfer Proceedings

Text: 42 The district court correctly concluded that Apprendi does not apply to the transfer proceeding for two reasons. First, by its own terms, Apprendi does not apply to this situation. Second, albeit in a different context, our caselaw suggests that Apprendi does not apply. 29 43 In Apprendi, the Supreme Court held that, [o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. 30 The Court cautioned that the relevant inquiry is one not of form, but of effect — does the required finding expose the defendant to a greater punishment than that authorized by the jury's guilty verdict? 31 44 Apprendi does not require that a jury find the facts that allow the transfer to district court. The transfer proceeding establishes the district court's jurisdiction over a defendant. 32 Transferring Miguel to federal court for prosecution as an adult does not increase the penalty for [Miguel's felony convictions] beyond the prescribed statutory maximum for those crimes. 33 The statutory maximum is death, and Miguel was sentenced to life. 34 For the same reasons, the transfer proceeding did not expose Miguel to greater punishment than the jury's guilty verdict later authorized. 35 45 Additionally, we have foreshadowed our holding today in United States v. Juvenile. 36 The defendant in Juvenile sought to analogize the transfer statute to statutes increasing the potential penalties in adult criminal cases. 37 This is precisely the analogy that we must adopt to accept Miguel's argument. However, in Juvenile, we rejected this analogy. We concluded that [t]he transfer statute does not per se increase punishment; it merely establishes a basis for district court jurisdiction. 38 Thus, we have refused to view the transfer statute as one that increases the potential penalties for a crime. Accordingly, Apprendi's caution that a jury must find any fact that increases punishment beyond the statutory maximum, has no bearing in transfer proceedings.