House passes bill to send more 16- and 17-year-old offenders to adult court

North Carolina House lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation that would automatically send 16- and 17-year-olds who commit violent crimes straight to adult court.

The Republican-led chamber voted 71 to 33 to approve House Bill 834.

What is Raise the Age in North Carolina?

Until 2019, North Carolina was the only state in the country to still automatically charge all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, even for the most minor criminal charges. Then, a "Raise The Age" law changed that by allowing those teenage offenders to be tried in juvenile court, while also leaving the option for particularly serious crimes to be moved up to adult court.

The "Raise the Age" initiative was intended to keep younger offenders out of the adult criminal justice system, allowing them to avoid the stigma of having lifetime criminal records and have greater access to services that reduce chances for recidivism. Raise the Age supporters also say juvenile justice facilities do more than adult prisons to teach inmates skills and help resolve mental issues that may have contributed to their criminal behavior.

The update on Wednesday would return 16-year-old and 17-year-old offenders charged with the most serious felonies automatically to adult court.

Bill supporters have argued the changes aren't rolling back “Raise the Age,” but are merely adjustments to reflect practical realities of the criminal justice system – juvenile-court cases for district attorneys are growing, and putting them in adult court to begin with will ease their loads.

The proposal would also lead to more serious charges for adults who entice juveniles to commit crimes.

The bill also creates a new process whereby a case can be removed from Superior Court to juvenile court — with the adult records deleted — if the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney agree to do so.

The legislation will now head to Gov. Roy Cooper, who can sign, veto or let the bill pass without his signature. If it becomes law, it would go into effect on Dec. 1.

Republican lawmakers in the state Senate, working with a lobbyist for prosecutors, proposed the bill. Supporters say it will help make it easier to use the prison system to punish people who commit violent crimes, even if they're teenagers.

Durham County Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey, a former juvenile court judge, urged colleagues not to accept the change. Morey said that young offenders should be treated uniformly based on their age, and not specifically on crimes.

“The system is working the way it should now,” Morey said. “Rolling back ‘Raise the Age’ with this bill by inventing a fiction of what a juvenile is based on a crime and not the age is the wrong way to go.” Two other former judges in the House also spoke against the Senate provisions.