In the Interest of D.S.
| Docket Number: | 2005-CA-01381-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 12-07-2006 Opinion Author: Cobb, J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Juvenile justice - Jurisdiction - Section 97-3-65(3)(c) - Section 97-3-95(1)(d) - Section 97-3-101(4) Judge(s) Concurring: Smith, C.J., Waller, P.J., Easley, Carlson and Randolph, JJ. Judge(s) Concurring Separately: Dickinson, J., Specially Concurs With Separate Written Opinion Joined by Waller, P.J., and Carlson, J.; Randolph, J. Joins In Part Dissenting Author : Diaz, J. Dissent Joined By : Graves, J Procedural History: Dismissal Nature of the Case: CIVIL - JUVENILE JUSTICE |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 06-28-2005 Appealed from: Coahoma County Youth Court Judge: Mills E. Barbee Disposition: This appeal comes from the dismissal of a petition charging D. S., a minor, with delinquency. The Coahoma County Youth Court, presided over by special judge Mills E. Barbee, appointed to hear the case due to the recusal of the regular youth court judge, concluded the youth court was without exclusive original jurisdiction to proceed on the charge filed against D.S. and dismissed without further elaboration. Case Number: 5707 |
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| Topic: | Juvenile justice - Jurisdiction - Section 97-3-65(3)(c) - Section 97-3-95(1)(d) - Section 97-3-101(4) |
| Summary of the Facts: | D.S., then sixteen years of age, was arrested on April 2, 2003, and charged with fondling a three-year-old female. The youth court judge instructed the officer to release D. S. into the custody of his mother and to issue an intake date. An intake proceeding was scheduled for April 7, 2003. D.S., his mother and father met with the intake counselor on that date. However, for reasons not provided in the record, the matter then was dormant for one and half years. In 2004, a Coahoma County grand jury indicted D.S. for sexual battery. D.S. filed a Motion to Dismiss and Transfer in the circuit court, seeking to return the matter to the youth court. The circuit judge dismissed the indictment without prejudice and transferred the entire cause to the Youth Court. The Youth Court prosecutor filed a two-paragraph Petition which stated that D.S. was a delinquent child. Simultaneously, a one-sentence Motion to Transfer back to the circuit court was filed against D.S. in youth court. In 2005, the youth court entered its order, dismissing the petition for lack of exclusive original jurisdiction. D.S. appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Where the youth court has exclusive original jurisdiction, juveniles may not be tried as adults in circuit court unless the youth court, in its own discretion, decides to transfer jurisdiction of the alleged offense or a lesser included offense to the criminal court which would have trial jurisdiction of such offense if committed by an adult. When a juvenile is charged with an offense carrying a potential life sentence, such as rape or murder, jurisdiction is vested exclusively in the circuit court and the Youth Court Act is inapplicable. The only determination necessary to vest original jurisdiction over a juvenile in the circuit court is whether an adult who committed the same offense would be exposed to death or life imprisonment. The potential life sentence is the determinative factor. In the present case the relevant sentencing provision is section 97-3-65(3)© which clearly provides for the possibility of life imprisonment for an adult found guilty of statutory rape. The same analysis and determination is true for sexual battery cases brought under section 97-3-95(1)(d) and sentenced under section 97-3-101(4). Therefore, the youth court was correct in simply dismissing the petition before it for lack of exclusive original jurisdiction of the charge filed against D.S. |
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