CRC - 2017 P 73 By Commissioner Coxe coxeh-00096-17 201773__ 1 A proposal to amend 2 Section 15 of Article I of the State Constitution to 3 require circuit court review before a state attorney 4 may pursue prosecution of a child as an adult in 5 criminal court. 6 7 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of 8 Florida: 9 10 Section 15 of Article I of the State Constitution is 11 amended to read: 12 ARTICLE I 13 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 14 SECTION 15. Prosecution for crime; offenses committed by 15 children.— 16 (a) No person shall be tried for capital crime without 17 presentment or indictment by a grand jury, or for other felony 18 without such presentment or indictment or an information under 19 oath filed by the prosecuting officer of the court, except 20 persons on active duty in the militia when tried by courts 21 martial. 22 (b) It is the policy of this state that, because children 23 are more neurologically, psychologically, and emotionally 24 underdeveloped than adults, the state attorney must petition the 25 circuit court for approval if he or she decides to pursue 26 prosecution of a child as an adult in criminal court rather than 27 in juvenile court. The circuit court must consider the 28 differences in the development of adults and children in 29 determining whether to approve a state attorney’s decision to 30 prosecute a child as an adult in criminal court.When authorized31by law, a child as therein defined may be charged with a32violation of law as an act of delinquency instead of crime and33tried without a jury or other requirements applicable to34criminal cases. Any child so charged shall, upon demand made as35provided by law before a trial in a juvenile proceeding, be36tried in an appropriate court as an adult. A child found37delinquent shall be disciplined as provided by law.