TITLE 20

STATE PRISON AND COUNTY JAILS

CHAPTER 5

JUVENILE CORRECTIONS ACT

20-508.  Waiver of jurisdiction and transfer to other courts. (1) After the filing of a petition and after full investigation and hearing, the court may waive jurisdiction under the juvenile corrections act over the juvenile and order that the juvenile be held for adult criminal proceedings when:

(a)  A juvenile is alleged to have committed any of the crimes enumerated in section 20-509, Idaho Code; or

(b)  A juvenile is alleged to have committed an act other than those enumerated in section 20-509, Idaho Code, after the child became fourteen (14) years of age which would be a crime if committed by an adult; or

(c)  An adult at the time of the filing of the petition is alleged to have committed an act prior to his having become eighteen (18) years of age which would be a felony if committed by an adult, and the court finds that the adult is not committable to an institution for people with intellectual disabilities or mental illness, is not treatable in any available institution or facility available to the state designed for the care and treatment of juveniles, or that the safety of the community requires the adult continue under restraint; or

(d)  An adult already under the jurisdiction of the court is alleged to have committed a crime while an adult.

(2)  A motion to waive jurisdiction under the juvenile corrections act and prosecute a juvenile under the criminal law may be made by the prosecuting attorney, the juvenile, or by motion of the court upon its own initiative. The motion shall be in writing and contain the grounds and reasons in support thereof.

(3)  Upon the filing of a motion to waive jurisdiction under the juvenile corrections act, the court shall enter an order setting the motion for hearing at a time and date certain and shall order a full and complete investigation of the circumstances of the alleged offense to be conducted by county probation, or such other agency or investigation officer designated by the court.

(4)  Upon setting the time for the hearing upon the motion to waive jurisdiction, the court shall give written notice of said hearing to the juvenile, and the parents, guardian or custodian of the juvenile, and the prosecuting attorney, at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing, or a lesser period stipulated by the parties, and such notice shall inform the juvenile and the parents, guardian or custodian of the juvenile of their right to court appointed counsel. Service of the notice shall be made in the manner prescribed for service of a summons under section 20-512, Idaho Code.

(5)  The hearing upon the motion to waive jurisdiction shall be held in the same manner as an evidentiary hearing upon the original petition and shall be made part of the record.

(6)  If as a result of the hearing on the motion to waive jurisdiction the court shall determine that jurisdiction should not be waived, the petition shall be processed in the customary manner as a juvenile corrections act proceeding. However, in the event the court determines, as a result of the hearing, that juvenile corrections act jurisdiction should be waived and the juvenile should be prosecuted under the criminal laws of the state of Idaho, the court shall enter findings of fact and conclusions of law upon which it bases such decision together with a decree waiving juvenile corrections act jurisdiction and binding the juvenile over to the authorities for prosecution under the criminal laws of the state of Idaho.

(7)  No motion to waive juvenile corrections act jurisdiction shall be recognized, considered, or heard by the court in the same case once the court has entered an order or decree in that case that said juvenile has come within the purview of the juvenile corrections act, and all subsequent proceedings after the decree finding the juvenile within the purview of the act must be under and pursuant to the act and not as a criminal proceeding.

(8)  In considering whether or not to waive juvenile court jurisdiction over the juvenile, the juvenile court shall consider the following factors:

(a)  The seriousness of the offense and whether the protection of the community requires isolation of the juvenile beyond that afforded by juvenile facilities;

(b)  Whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated, or willful manner;

(c)  Whether the alleged offense was against persons or property, greater weight being given to offenses against persons;

(d)  The maturity of the juvenile as determined by considerations of his home, environment, emotional attitude, and pattern of living;

(e)  The juvenile’s record and previous history of contacts with the juvenile corrections system;

(f)  The likelihood that the juvenile will develop competency and life skills to become a contributing member of the community by use of facilities and resources available to the court;

(g)  The amount of weight to be given to each of the factors listed in subsection (8) of this section is discretionary with the court, and a determination that the juvenile is not a fit and proper subject to be dealt with under the juvenile court law may be based on any one (1) or a combination of the factors set forth within this section, which shall be recited in the order of waiver.

(9)  If the court does not waive jurisdiction and order a juvenile or adult held for criminal proceedings, the court in a county other than the juvenile’s or adult’s home county, after entering a decree that the juvenile or adult is within the purview of this chapter, may certify the case for sentencing to the court of the county in which the juvenile offender or adult resides upon being notified that the receiving court is willing to accept transfer. In the event of a transfer, which should be made unless the court finds it contrary to the interest of the juvenile offender or adult, the jurisdiction of the receiving court shall attach to the same extent as if the court had original jurisdiction.

(10) Upon conviction of a juvenile offender held for adult criminal proceedings under this section, the sentencing judge may, if a finding is made that adult sentencing measures would be inappropriate:

(a)  Sentence the convicted person in accordance with the juvenile sentencing options set forth in this chapter; or

(b)  Sentence the convicted person to the county jail or to the custody of the state board of correction but suspend the sentence and retain jurisdiction pursuant to section 19-2601A, Idaho Code, and commit the defendant to the dual custody of the department of juvenile corrections and the state board of correction.

  

History:

[(20-508, added 1977, ch. 165, sec. 2, p. 427; am. 1981, ch. 162, sec. 1, p. 284; am. and redesig. 1995, ch. 44, sec. 9, p. 77; am. 1995, ch. 47, sec. 1, p. 111; am. 1995, ch. 277, sec. 4, p. 930; am. 1997, ch. 82, sec. 1, p. 192; am. 1999, ch. 390, sec. 1, p. 1086; am. 2000, ch. 246, sec. 2, p. 688; am. 2007, ch. 308, sec. 2, p. 865; am. 2010, ch. 235, sec. 9, p. 549; am. 2012, ch. 19, sec. 8, p. 45; am. 2015, ch. 113, sec. 6, p. 288.]