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Monday, June 23, 2008
Courts - More on: The Supreme Court of Kansas has ruled that juvenile defendants have a right to trial by jury
Re whether this argument could be successfully made in Indiana, a reader knowledgeable in juvenile law has referred me to Bible v. State, 253 Ind. 373, at 380 and 389 2 54 N.E. 2d 319 (Ind. 1970), where the Court states that it:
takes the position that the presence of a jury would interfere with the proper administration of the juvenile system without adding any appreciable protection to the rights of the juvenile. We believe that, among others, his rights to counsel, cross-examination of witnesses, confrontation of his accusers, and the privilege against self-incrimination, afford the juvenile the constitutional protection he requires without diminishing the beneficial elements intended for him by our Juvenile Act."Extensive quotes from Bible may be accessed here.
(In addition, the reader points out that " the United States Supreme Court has determined a similar result under Federal Constitutional law: See McKeiver v. Pa., 403 U.S. 528 (1971).")
ILB: Note that the Indiana case (Bible) differs from the Kansas decision in that the Indiana Court states "our juvenile proceedings are considered civil in nature and not criminal, the statutory denial of the right to trial by jury has never been thought to violate the Indiana Constitution" and references Art. 1, Sec. 20 of the Indiana Constitution, which provides that "In all civil cases, the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate," while the Kansas decision considers juvenile prosecutions to be criminal in nature and references the Kansas equivalent to Indiana's Art. 1, Sec. 13.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 23, 2008 02:15 PM
Posted to Courts in general