Legislature(1997 - 1998)
01/21/1998 01:40 PM House FIN
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE BILL NO. 63
"An Act providing for automatic waiver of juvenile
jurisdiction and prosecution of minors as adults for
certain violations of laws by minors who use deadly
weapons to commit offenses that are crimes against a
person, and relating to the sealing of the records of
those minors."
JAMES AMRSTRONG, STAFF, SENATOR DONLEY testified in support
of SB 63. He observed that the Committee received a
proposed committee substitute for SB 63, work draft O-
LS0295\B, 6/30/98 (copy on file). He maintained that the
proposed committee substitute would create a strong
deterrent to the repeated use of deadly weapons by
juveniles. The proposed committee substitute would
prosecute as adult, minors that:
1. Use a deadly weapon to commit a class B felony
crime against a person;
2. Are 16 or older, and
3. Were previously adjudicated delinquent or
convicted as an adult of using a deadly weapon to
commit a crime against a person punishable as a
felony.
Mr. Armstrong pointed out that the proposed committee
substitute would not waive juvenile offenders who have
committed class C felony offenses. He clarified that
offenses committed with a dangerous instrument would not be
included under the proposed committee substitute.
Representative Davies asked how many cases the legislation
would affect. Mr. James estimated that three cases would be
affected by the legislation
Representative Davies noted that the Department of Law
waived seven cases in the past year. Mr. James observed
that the legislation expands the law to cover class B
offenses.
Co-Chair Therriault MOVED to ADOPT work draft O-LS0295\B,
6/30/98. There being NO OBJECTION, the motion was adopted.
Representative Davies asked the significance of the language
"a crime punishable as a class B felony." He questioned if
the language would reach beyond class B felonies; such as in
the case of a class C aggravated offense. A class C
aggravated offense would be punishable as a class B offense.
Mr. James did not think that a class C aggravated offense
would be waived by the legislation.
MARGOT KNUTH, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, CRIMINAL DIVISION,
DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND GOVERNOR'S CHILDRENS CABINET ON ISSUES
OF JUVENILE JUSTICE testified that SB 63 represents a change
in Alaskan law. She observed that, currently, automatic
waivers only occur for unclassified and class A felony
offenses. She noted that the Governor's Conference on Youth
and Justice considered the issue of extending automatic
waivers to other offenses. The Governor's Conference on
Youth and Justice concluded that dual sentencing for younger
offenders or lesser offenses would be a better alternative.
She pointed out that HB 16 would include a dual sentencing
provision for this type of offense. The Governor's
Conference on Youth and Justice recommended more prevention
for the bulk of juvenile offenses. She acknowledged that
the legislation is improved by the proposed committee
substitute. She estimated that eight juveniles a year would
be affected by the legislation.
In response to a question by Co-Chair Therriault, Ms. Knuth
clarified that the Senate Finance Committee's fiscal note
was in reaction to the Department of Corrections' request
for a new facility. The Senate Finance Committee disputed
the Department of Corrections' claim that the legislation
would require an expansion of existing facilities. She noted
that the Department of Corrections' revised fiscal note only
includes incarceration costs of new offenders.
Co-Chair Therriault provided members with a copy of the
offenses that would be captured by the proposed committee
substitute (copy on file).
Co-Chair Hanley noted that the Department of Corrections
estimated that eight juveniles would be affect by the
mandatory waiver per year. He questioned if this estimate
reflects the number of juveniles that would be waived under
the current discretionary law.
Ms. Knuth did not know if the figure included juveniles that
would be waived under current law. She clarified that the
language "punishable as" applies to a unclassified felony, a
class A felony and a class B felony. She observed that
sections 1 and 3 are not parallel. She explained that
"punishable as an unclassified felony" indicates that it is
a crime against a person and is also an unclassified felony.
Representative Davies provided members with Amendment #1
(copy on file). The amendment would removed "punishable
as". He emphasized that his intent is to clarify the
language. He asked that the legislation be held in
Committee in order to clarify the best method of drafting.
Mr. Armstrong provided members with a list of cases that
occurred in the previous year (copy on file). Senate Bill
63 would have affected three of these cases.
Representative Kelly observed that juveniles are adjudicated
as delinquents for offenses that would be punishable as
unclassified, class A, or class B felonies in adult court.
GEORGE BUHITE, STATEWIDE, YOUTH CORRECTIONS, DIVISION OF
YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL
SERVICES stated that he would try to determine the number of
new cases that would be waived under SB 63.
BLAIR MCCUNE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC DEFENDERS AGENCY
testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He reiterated
that the waiver would be mandatory. He spoke in support of
retaining discretion. He emphasized that some of the
offenders would be amenable to treatment as juveniles. He
clarified that, in automatic waiver cases, the case is taken
to a grand jury. The juvenile is arraigned in adult court.
If the jury finds the defendant guilty of a lesser degree
offense than what they were charged with, the defendant can
request consideration as a juvenile.
SB 63 was HELD in Committee for further consideration.
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