New bill would raise juvenile criminal coverage to age 20

A newly proposed bill in Sacramento would raise the age to be criminally tried as an adult in California to 20, up from 16. SB 889 is almost certain to be challenged in court if it passes with recent history suggesting courts and district attorneys around the state could take very different positions on its legality.

"When teenagers make serious mistakes and commit crimes, state prison is not the answer," the bill's author, Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, said in a statement announcing the bill. "Processing teenagers through the juvenile justice system will help ensure they receive the appropriate education, counseling, treatment, and rehabilitation services necessary to achieve real public safety outcomes."

The juvenile system is also currently running at below capacity, following a longterm downturn in youth crime. This could put it in a better position to provide rehabilitation than the overcrowded adult system, Skinner argued.

The statement goes on to note someone must be 21 to buy alcohol or rent a car in many states and to cite some research indicating the brains of older teens are not fully developed. This is the same rationale provided for SB 1391, a law signed in 2018 that bars people under 16 from being tried as adults.

While the California District Attorneys Association has not taken an official position on the bill, legislative director Larry D. Morse II said Tuesday, "We note that when someone turns 18, the government declares them old enough to marry, to bind themselves in contracts, to vote, and most importantly, decide to put their life on the line in service to their country. This bill suggests you're old enough to make those decisions, yet not responsible enough to be held accountable for committing a violent crime."

Michelle A. Hanisee, the president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in Los Angeles County, said SB 889 is hard to judge at this point. The bill was introduced Friday and currently states merely, "This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to raise the age limit on California's youth justice system."

Skinner's office declined to comment on the record about the bill's next steps. But her press release states "Sen. Skinner and her staff are working closely with numerous stakeholders, including the Chief Probation Officers of California."

Hanisee said she hoped Skinner would engage in good faith negotiations with law enforcement groups. A key goal, she added, would be to seek exemptions that make it clear certain serious criminals can be tried as adults.

"You can't write the laws on how juveniles are treated based solely on the 99%," Hanisee said. "You have to also consider that 1%, the 1%of really heinous criminals who turn to that life of crime at a very young age. They are the exception, but the law has to make allowances."

This was a significant point of contention around SB 1391. Those who objected to the law often cited Daniel Marsh, who tortured and stabbed an elderly couple to death in their Davis home in 2013 when he was 15. He was sentenced to 52 years to life.

Then the signing of SB 1391 raised the possibility Marsh could be released early. Yolo County Superior Court Judge Samuel T. McAdam ruled in 2018 Marsh must stay in prison, in part citing the rationale he could not be rehabilitated by age 25, when he would age out of the youth system.

The legality of SB 1391 will almost certainly be determined by the California Supreme Court, which has five cases related to the law on its docket. There is a circuit split over the law. Multiple appellate courts have upheld SB 1391 as "consistent" with the goals of Proposition 57. That initiative, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016, put new limits on prosecuting juveniles, particularly those under 16.

But in October, a unanimous panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Division Six, upheld a Ventura County judge's ruling that the law was "inconsistent" with Proposition 57 and the Legislature had overstepped its authority. O.G. v. Superior Court of Ventura County, 2019 DJDAR 9451.