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Florida Constitution Revision Commission

PUB 700556: Limiting Transfers of Juvenile Offenders to Adult Court by Caitlyn Kio

ARTICLE I: DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, Section 15. Prosecution for crime; offenses committed by children.

SECTION 15.Prosecution for crime; offenses committed by children.
  1. No person shall be tried for capital crime without presentment or indictment by a grand jury, or for other felony without such presentment or indictment or an information under oath filed by the prosecuting officer of the court, except persons on active duty in the militia when tried by courts martial.
  2. When authorized by law, a child as therein defined may Except as provided under subsection (d) and (e), any person who was under age 18 at the time of commission of their alleged offense shall be charged with a violation of law as an act of delinquency instead of crime and tried without a jury or other requirements applicable to criminal cases. Any child so charged shall, upon demand made as provided by law before a trial in a juvenile proceeding, be tried in an appropriate court as an adult. A child Any person who was under age 18 at the time of commission of their alleged offense and who is found delinquent shall be disciplined as provided by law.
  3. No person who was under age 16 at the time of commission of their alleged offense shall be transferred for criminal prosecution as an adult for any offense.
  4. Persons who were age 16 or 17 at the time of commission of their alleged offense shall only be transferred for criminal prosecution as an adult after a judicial review hearing at which the court must make findings that (1) transfer is necessary to protect public safety, and (2) the child cannot be rehabilitated in the juvenile system. The parties shall have the ability to present evidence and examine witnesses at the judicial review hearing. Persons under this subsection shall not be held in an adult jail or prison facility until convicted for a criminal offense as an adult.
  5. There shall be no mandatory transfers of persons who were under age 18 at the time of commission of their alleged offense for criminal prosecution as an adult. All transfer decisions shall be made after an individualized determination by the court as described in subsection (d).