Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
Juvenile Competency Adjudication In California Criminal Court, Michael W. Hanley
Juvenile Competency Adjudication In California Criminal Court, Michael W. Hanley
Michael W Hanley
Legal issues are examined vis-à-vis an empirical case study of a criminal judicial proceeding where an alleged juvenile offender was charged with serious crimes in an adult court venue. The issue litigated before a 12-member jury was not the substantive merits of guilt or innocence of the alleged criminal conduct, but whether the juvenile offender was statutorily and constitutionally competent to stand trial. The following is a succinct account of the procedural and substantive constitutional and statutory rules attributed to legal competency to stand trial and how they were recognized and applied in the government’s case against an alleged juvenile …