II. Do Children Belong in the Adult Criminal Justice System?
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HUMAN BRANDED FOR LIFE RIGHTS Florida’s Prosecution of Children as Adults under its WATCH “Direct File” Statute Branded for Life Florida’s Prosecution of Children as Adults under its “Direct File” Statute Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-1180 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org APRIL 2014 978-1-62313-1180 Branded for Life Florida’s Prosecution of Children as Adults under its “Direct File” Statute Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 7 To the Florida Legislature .......................................................................................................... 7 To Elected State Attorneys ........................................................................................................ 7 To Juvenile Court Judges ........................................................................................................... 7 To Circuit Court Judges ............................................................................................................. 8 To the Office of Court Administration........................................................................................ 8 To Public Defenders ................................................................................................................. 8 To the Department of Juvenile Justice ....................................................................................... 8 To the Department of Corrections ............................................................................................. 8 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 9 I. Background ................................................................................................................... 13 Juvenile Courts in the United States ........................................................................................ 13 Prosecutorial Direct File: The National Context ........................................................................ 16 Florida: At the Forefront of Treating Children as Adults ............................................................ 17 Florida’s Direct File Statute ..................................................................................................... 18 Which Children Are Being Prosecuted in Florida’s Adult Courts? .............................................. 22 Types of Offenses ............................................................................................................. 22 Racial Disparities ............................................................................................................. 27 II. Do Children Belong in the Adult Criminal Justice System? ............................................ 31 Children are Different ............................................................................................................. 31 The Difference According to Psychology and Neuroscience ...................................................... 31 The Difference According to Florida Youth ............................................................................... 34 III. Rights Put at Risk by Direct File ................................................................................... 37 Charging Decisions: Opaque and Unlimited Discretion ............................................................ 37 Arbitrary Use of Direct File and Resulting Disparities ............................................................... 42 Proceedings Not Tailored to Children ...................................................................................... 45 Children Under Pressure to Plea ............................................................................................. 48 Adult Sentences and Collateral Consequences ........................................................................ 56 Sentencing After Direct File ............................................................................................... 56 The Consequences of an Adult Sentence .......................................................................... 65 Children Confined in Adult Jails and Prisons ............................................................................ 72 Transfer to Adult Jail ......................................................................................................... 72 Conditions in Adult Jails and Prisons ................................................................................ 72 IV. Relevant Legal Standards ............................................................................................ 79 Florida Law ............................................................................................................................. 79 US Federal Law ...................................................................................................................... 80 International Law ................................................................................................................... 80 The Child’s Right to Special Treatment ............................................................................. 80 Charging Decisions .......................................................................................................... 83 Court Processes ............................................................................................................... 83 Incarceration ................................................................................................................... 84 Other Rights .................................................................................................................... 86 V. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 88 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 90 Appendix A: Human Rights Watch Letter and Survey ......................................................... 92 Appendix B: Transfer Rates for Murder and Property Crimes for Black and White Youth ..... 98 Appendix C: 2011 Direct File Policies of the 4th Judicial Circuit ......................................... 100 Summary Oliver B. was prosecuted in adult court in Florida when he was 16 for stealing two laptops from a high school classroom. Matthew N., also 17, was prosecuted in adult court for stealing a printer from the back porch of a house. The experiences of Oliver and Matthew— removed from the juvenile justice system as teenagers and tried in adult court for nonviolent crimes—are far from unique. Florida transfers more children out of the juvenile system and into adult court than any other state. In the last five years alone, more than 12,000 juvenile crime suspects in Florida were transferred to the adult court system. New statistics developed by Human Rights Watch based on official Florida state data show that more than 60 percent of the juveniles Florida transferred to adult court during this period were charged with nonviolent felonies. Only 2.7 percent were prosecuted for murder. Whether a particular youth accused of a particular crime in Florida ends up in adult court is in an important sense arbitrary. The new data show that nearly 98 percent of the juveniles in adult court in Florida end up there pursuant to the state’s “direct file” statute, which gives prosecutors unfettered discretion to move a wide range of juvenile cases to adult court (including any 16- and 17-year-old accused of a felony), with no involvement by a judge whatsoever. The data show that this discretion is being exercised differently by prosecutors in different judicial circuits within Florida. Too often, as detailed below, the same crime is treated differently depending on the predilections of the prosecutor where the crime occurs: different judicial circuit, different outcome. And there is evidence that racial bias is affecting that exercise of discretion with respect to certain crimes. Most states in the United States do not allow for direct file. International law requires that children, including those accused of crimes, be treated as children. And for good reason. Neuroscience, recent US Supreme Court decisions, and a by-now large and growing literature show that children, including 16- and 17-year-old juveniles, are different and in important respects less culpable than adults who commit the same crimes, and more amenable to rehabilitation, a key objective that the juvenile system