North Carolina is no longer the only state in the U.S. that automatically prosecutes juveniles as adults beginning at age 16. In June, the General Assembly ended a century long practice of prosecuting teens as adults by enacting the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act as part of the 2017 state budget, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18. As a result, most 16 and 17-year-olds will be prosecuted in juvenile court beginning December 1, 2019. There are, however, some exceptions. Here’s what you should know about this historic reform. A Bipartisan “Raise the Age” Proposal The passage of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act concludes a long-standing campaign for NC to raise the juvenile age. Past efforts failed largely due to concerns from the law enforcement community about potential threats to public safety and concerns from lawmakers about the cost of expanding the juvenile justice system. So, what changed? In September 2015, Chief Justice Mark Martin convened the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice (NCCALJ) to study North Carolina’s court system and make recommendations to improve it. The NCCALJ Committee on Criminal Investigation and Adjudication identified “juvenile reinvestment” as a top priority and developed a raise the age proposal with input from a diverse group of stakeholders, including law enforcement officials, prosecutors, juvenile justice representatives, and judges, among others. That collaboration resulted in the Juvenile Reinvestment Report, which concludes that rehabilitating youthful offenders in juvenile court will reduce crime and save money. Citing adolescent brain development research [...]
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