The House Juvenile Justice Committee will meet today to continue looking at a possible policy change that would raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 17 years old.
State Representative Mandi Ballinger (R-Canton), who chairs the committee, announced Thursday that lawmakers will hold a special meeting to discuss House Bill 440 — also known as the “Raise the Age” bill. Ballinger introduced this bill during the last session of the General Assembly in February, but it did not move out of committee.
According to Ballinger, Georgia is one of only three states that treats 17-year-olds like adults when it comes to criminal matters. Most 17-year-old offenders in the United States go through their state’s juvenile court processes.
“Raise the Age is an important step for Georgia,” said Ballinger. “As one of three states left in the U.S. sending minors to State and Superior Court, we need to enact this change. Adjudicating juvenile 17-year olds in Juvenile Court will allow them to be dealt with holistically, with a system used to partnering with institutions (like school systems) that regularly interact with these kids. This insures better outcomes and reduces recidivism.”
According to reports, the committee met in November and heard from Georgetown University professor and developmental psychologist Jennifer Woolard who spoke on teens, their development and the legal process.
According to Ballinger, during today’s meeting advocates and area experts will join her in coordinating efforts to raise public awareness of HB 440. Additionally, Marcy Mistrett, CEO of Campaign for Youth Justice, will discuss various perspectives on “Raise the Age” legislation from other states.
Even with the passage of HB 400, some teens would still come under the purview of the local superior court as state law mandates that anyone older than 13 be tried as an adult for a handful of major felonies, from armed robbery that involves guns to certain sex crimes and homicide.
HB 440 states that “the court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the superior court over a child who is alleged to have committed a delinquent act which would be considered a crime if tried in a superior court and for which an adult may be punished by loss of life, imprisonment for life without possibility of parole, or confinement for life in a penal institution. The superior court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over the trial of any child 13 to 18 years of age who is alleged to have committed any of the following offenses: murder, murder in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, or armed robbery if committed with a firearm.”
The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in Room 216 of the State Capitol.
