North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday vetoed a bill that would have required minors accused of serious crimes to automatically be tried in court as adults.
As things stand, some criminal cases involving juvenile defendants may remain in juvenile court.
Bill 834 passed the House and Senate with significant bipartisan support but was vetoed by Cooper, who sided with the bill’s critics, warning that the changes would roll back provisions of the 2019 “Raise the Age” law that mandated that 16- and 17-year-olds be tried in the adult criminal justice system.
Opposition to automatically charging children in adult court was seen as a way to give young people access to youth-centered resources within the juvenile justice system that would not release their records, while also allowing more young people to avoid having a lifetime of criminal records exposed for a one-time mistake.
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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would have required minors accused of serious crimes to be automatically tried in adult court. (Shawn Rayford/Getty Images)
“I am concerned that this new law will deny some children the care they need and make our communities less safe,” Cooper said in his veto message.
American Civil Liberties Union I wrote in a letter Prior to his veto, the governor warned that prosecuting children as adults would “cause significant harm to young people and do nothing to address the underlying causes of juvenile crime.”
“The juvenile justice system requires and is more effective than the adult system, requiring far more accountability, counseling, education and family involvement,” the letter reads. “Recidivism rates are significantly higher for those who go through the adult system than those who receive services and punishment from the juvenile justice system.”
Republican Sen. Danny Britt, who spearheaded the bill, said lawmakers worked to change the law to reflect the reality that young people charged with felonies end up in adult court, and that legal procedures for transferring them from juvenile court to adult court put a strain on prosecutors’ juvenile caseloads.
“From a practical standpoint, this process will increase the efficiency of the courts,” Britt told The Associated Press, adding that he supports the “raise the age” bill and still believes it is the right step.
House Bill 834 passed the House and Senate with significant bipartisan support before being vetoed by the Governor. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
The bill now heads back to the state Legislature, where lawmakers will try to override the governor’s veto. Eighteen Democrats in both the House and Senate voted in favor of the bill, along with all but one Republican.
Republicans hold a veto-override majority in the state Legislature and overrode all 19 of Cooper’s vetoes last year. They have yet to vote to override a bill the governor vetoed earlier this year.
According to the Juvenile Justice Act, cases of 16- and 17-year-olds accused of the most serious felonies must be transferred to adult court after an indictment is issued or after a hearing determines there is probable cause that a crime was committed. Prosecutors have the discretion not to try juveniles of these ages accused of lesser felonies in adult court.
HB 834 would have eliminated the transfer requirements for most of these high-level felonies and instead would have automatically transferred these juvenile cases to adult court.
North Carolina was the last state to automatically prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds as adults when the “Raise the Age” law went into effect. Children of those ages are still tried in adult court for motor vehicle-related crimes.
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The bill now goes back to the state Legislature, where lawmakers will try to override the governor’s veto. (Nick Utt/Getty Images)
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“Most violent crimes should be handled in adult court, even if committed by teenagers,” Cooper said, “but there are cases where, depending on the severity of a teenager’s crime, sentencing can be more effective and appropriate, making communities safer. This bill makes it highly unlikely that this important option will become a reality.”
The bill would also establish a new procedure for transferring cases from superior court to juvenile court and expunging adult records if the prosecutor and defense attorney agree to the transfer.
Children between the ages of 13 and 15 who are charged with first-degree murder are automatically transferred to adult court after an arraignment or probable cause hearing.
The bill would also increase penalties for adults who solicit minors to commit crimes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
