Summary of Hatch-Leahy Managers' Amendment
Cures Federalism Problems:
- No longer repeals provision in current law establishing State presumption for handling juvenile offenders;
- Clarifies that State presumption should be exercised in "in cases in which the Federal government and a State or Indian tribe has penal provisions which criminalize the conduct at issue and both have jurisdiction over the juvenile";
- Permits judicial review of a federal prosecutor's decision to proceed against a juvenile in federal court, except in cases involving serious violent or serious drug offenses;
Trial of Juveniles as Adults in Federal Court:
- Refines "reverse waiver" procedure to allow juvenile defendant 30 days after appearing to answer an indictment to make a motion for transfer to juvenile court;
- Requires the juvenile defendant to show by "preponderance" of the evidence, instead of "clear and convincing" evidence, that he or she should be tried as a juvenile rather than an adult;
Federal Juvenile Records:
- Revises requirement in S.254 that juvenile criminal records for any federal offense, no matter how petty, be sent to the FBI, and limits this requirement to acts that would be felonies if committed by an adult;
- Permits a juvenile after 5 years to petition the court to have the criminal record removed from the FBI database, if the juvenile can show by clear and convincing evidence that he or she is no longer a danger to the community (this does not apply to juveniles convicted of rape, murder or certain other serious felonies);
Core Protections:
- Requires separation of juveniles and adult inmates and allows only "brief and inadvertent or accidental" proximity in nonresidential areas, which may include dining, recreational, educational, vocational, health care, entry areas, and passageways;
- "jail removal" protection clarified so that when parents in rural areas give their consent to have their children detained in adult jails after an arrest, the parents may revoke their consent at any time; the judge who approves the juvenile's detention must determine it is in the best interests of the juvenile, and may review that detention as the judge must periodically in the presence of the juvenile.
- "jail removal" protection clarified so that juvenile offenders in rural areas may be detained in an adult jail for up to 48 hours while awaiting a court appearance, but only when no alternative facilities are available.
Prevention:
- Earmarks from $200 million per year Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Challenge Grant 80% of the appropriated funds, or up to $160 million per year, for primary prevention uses and 20% of the appropriated funds, or up to $40 million per year, for intervention uses;
Grants To Juvenile Court Systems:
- Authorizes grant program of $50 million per year for State juvenile court judges, juvenile prosecutors, juvenile public defenders, and other juvenile court system personnel to reduce juvenile court backlogs and recidivism;
Sense of Senate:
- Deletes sense of the Senate resolution in S.254 urging States to try juveniles 10 to 14 years old as adults for crimes, such as murder, that would carry the death penalty if committed by an adult;
Grants to Youth Organizations:
- Authorizes grants to Indian tribes and national, statewide or communitybased groups in crime prone areas to provide constructive activities for afterschool, weekend and school vacations;
Victims of Terrorism:
- Extends relief available in current law to American victims of terrorism or mass violence occurring outside the United States on or after December 20, 1988, to authorize assistance to victims of Pan Am 103 downed over Lockerbie, Scotland;
Truth in Sentencing Incentive Grants:
- Amends truthinsentencing grant program to establish minimum allocation to each state that meets the eligibility requirements for the program (agreed to in S. 10 in 105th Congress).
Clarification of Intent Requirement for Death Sentence for an Act of Animal Enterprise Terrorism:
- Clarifies that intent requirement under 18 U.S.C. § 3591 for imposition of the death penalty applies to sentencing under 18 U.S.C. § 43.

|
 |
Please select a destination:
|
|