Little Expected In Juvenile Justice Reforms Senate Expected To Amend Bill, Narrowing Its Scope To Specific Violent Crimes

Juvenile justice reforms that would crack down on violent 16- and 17-year-olds aren’t expected to have much impact in Spokane, court officials said Monday.

Senate lawmakers this week will likely pass a bill that would automatically waive those teenagers into adult court, where penalties are much stiffer.

HB3900 passed the House with that provision, but the bill is likely to be amended in the Senate to narrow its scope. Several changes are being discussed that would limit the automatic waiver to specific violent offenses.

Senate Law and Justice Committee chairwoman Pam Roach said she wants to limit the waiver to teenagers charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree child rape, drive-by shooting and first-degree burglary if the defendant has a criminal record.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds who commit a violent offense while possessing a deadly weapon would also be prosecuted as adults.

Democratic Gov. Gary Locke is open to limited expansion of the automatic waiver law, said press secretary Marylou Flynn.

Spokane County court officials say the House bill, if amended, wouldn’t send more juveniles to the adult system and restrict judges’ discretion.

Juvenile Court director Tom Davis said the number of juveniles being sent to the adult system has nearly tripled in the past two years anyway.

By automatically prosecuting them as adults, judges don’t get the opportunity to review the circumstances of the crimes, he said.

But Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor said she can live with the juvenile justice bill if it applies to juveniles with prior criminal records.

“The chances of us keeping them (in Juvenile Court) aren’t real high,” she said.

Davis believes the juvenile justice system doesn’t need a major overhaul. Rhetoric to change the system aims at scaring individuals into supporting stiffer penalties, he said.

“A lot of this legislation is being driven by emotion. It’s not being driven by facts.”

Davis said the Legislature could better serve the system by providing more resources, like money to expand detention centers.

Less controversial provisions in the juvenile justice bill include mandating parental involvement in criminal cases, simplifying the sentencing process and providing treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.

House Law and Justice Committee chairman Larry Sheahan, R-Rosalia, said he appreciates Locke’s willingness to compromise on the issue.

“The governor has come quite a ways in our direction,” Sheahan said. “I’m sure we’ll want to go farther than he wants. We’re hopeful he’ll come even farther in our direction.”

The bill was the subject of a protest Monday afternoon by about 25 college students. The students disrupted the Senate by banging on the chamber doors, then climbed up to the gallery, yelling: “No kids in prison!”

The students were escorted out of the Capitol by authorities, and the Senate chamber doors were locked.

The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as Wednesday.

, DataTimes