BALTIMORE — In Maryland, there are over 30 charges that make a juvenile automatically get charged as an adult, its something many see as an issue.
Natasha Dartigue, a Maryland Public Defender, says the state is failing at protecting children when it comes to charging a child as an adult.
"Public health is compromised and communities are at greater risk of future crime when children are prosecuted as adults,” said Dartigue.
Under the Maryland law, children are automatically charged as an adult if they are at least 14-years-old with a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
- At least 16-years-old charged with violating traffic boat law not punishable by incarceration
- At least 16 and charged with one of the 30 specified crimes under the Maryland Code
- If they have been previously convicted of a felony in an adult proceeding
- If there is a peace order where the victim is alleging domestic abuse
"If you are a child charged as an adult, you are booked and processed through the adult criminal court. If you are here in Baltimore City that means upon your arrest you are taken through central booking like any other adult,” said Dartigue.
Then, the child will have pre-trial where the court may order held without bail or the child may be released with or without supervision.
If the child is eligible, a motion hearing is held where the case may be transferred back to juvenile court.
"Charging children as an adult is basically a waste of resources, after judicial review, approximately 3/4 of the children charged as adults have their cases transferred to juvenile court, dismissed or given times served,” said Dartigue.
Dartigue says a bill must be passed to stop the automatic charging of children as adults.
It would not eliminate children being charged as an adult, it will just require children's cases start in the juvenile system and that alternative punishments must be given to hold a child accountable.
"We must also adopt alternatives, alternatives that can hold a person accountable, but while also addressing what the child needs to secure a brighter future through schooling, vocational training or treatment,” said Dartigue.
In our "2 BMore" podcast, featured on WMAR, Mayor Brandon Scott was the guest.
He had a similar response saying that services must be provided to hold young people accountable.
"No, accountability is not an option, that's what we can do right now to start to fill those gaps. What do we do, when we hold these young people accountable, we can't just be sending them back home or back out on the streets, we have to make sure that there's some services, there's some accountability, all of those things that we can do," said Scott.
To hear the whole discussion with Mayor Scott head to the click here.
