The Waiver Rules

• According to the Office of Juvenile Justice Programs, as of publication date, all states except New York, New Mexico and Nebraska have made the juvenile waiver legal. Most states apply the waiver to offenders 16 years old and older, but some states have lowered their minimum age to 13 years old and older. Several states allow any age to be tried as an adult if homicide is involved. Currently, 15 states allow the prosecutor to file a case in both the juvenile and adult court. Usually the waiver is only used with serious cases and offenders with long history of offenses, or if past rehabilitation attempts have been deemed unsuccessful.
  
  

Initiating the Waiver

• The most common way the waiver process begins is a prosecutor or a juvenile court judge requests a waiver. Once the waiver procedure begins, a hearing is held and the prosecutor must show probable cause that the juvenile has committed a crime. Only if the prosecutor proves his case is the juvenile evaluated. Rehabilitation is considered by reviewing the juvenile’s background, willingness to get help and past court records. If rehabilitation does not seem like an option, then the judge will allow the wavier and the juvenile will be arraigned in adult criminal court.
  
  

Automatic Transfer

• A juvenile can be automatically waived to adult court if the offender fulfills two requirements: minimum legal age and serious charges. Depending on the state, the juvenile can be as young as 16 or 13 to qualify for automatic transfer. If the juvenile case involves murder or rape, it is considered a high violence crime and is the second qualification for automatic transfer to adult court. In the case of automatic transfers, a reverse waiver allows the juvenile to request to be tried in juvenile court. When a reverse waiver is requested, a hearing occurs and the attorney of the juvenile must convince the judge to allow the transfer of the case to juvenile court.
  
  

Advantages

• There are advantages to a juvenile being prosecuted in an adult court. The trial will be subjected to constitutional protections that are not usually part of juvenile court, such as trial by jury. The juvenile has the opportunity to receive sympathy from the jurors who are used to cases regarding adults. In addition, if the jail is overcrowded, the juvenile will become less of a priority for incarceration and the court may give the minor a lighter sentence.
  
  

Disadvantages

• Disadvantages also exist when a juvenile is prosecuted in an adult court. Juvenile courts have more diverse options for sentencing, like placing a curfew or ordering counseling. In adult court, the juvenile is susceptible to receiving more sever sentencing than he could receive in juvenile court, such as a life sentence. Additionally, if convicted in adult court, the juvenile will have to serve time with adults. Lastly, unlike juvenile records, adult criminal records sometimes cannot be expunged or ordered as unavailable to the public.