NCJ Number
102023
Journal
Criminal Justice Quarterly Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1986) Pages: 68-103
Date Published
1986
Length
36 pages
Annotation
The impact of changes in the New Jersey Code of Juvenile Justice on the waiver of juvenile cases to adult court was evaluated in data for 122 cases transferred to adult court by prosecutorial or defense motion in 1984.
Abstract
A primary intention of these changes was to establish specific guidelines for judging the eligibility of cases for prosecutorial transfer to adult court. Most notably, the changes shifted the burden of proof to the defense counsel regarding the juvenile's potential for rehabilitation prior to age 19, in cases where probable cause has been established that the juvenile committed a violent offense. Of the 122 cases, 95 (78 percent) involved motions for waiver filed by the prosecutor under the new legislation. Of these, 82 were absent of defense consent, and of the 82, 64 were granted jurisdiction and transferred to adult court. Based on total juvenile arrests for violent offenses, county prosecutors used the new statute for waiver for a limited number of cases: only about 1.5 percent of all juvenile arrests for violent crime were recommended for waiver by prosecutorial motion. Thus, the revised legislation has not had a dramatic impact on the number of prosecutorial motions filed for waiver to adult court. 4 references.