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<\/figure>\nA Moment with… is an opinion feature in which The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board asks community leaders for their take on issues affecting our community and the state. State Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, shares his\u00a0concerns about the process that allows prosecutors to bypass the juvenile justice system and be charged\u00a0as adults. His\u00a0responses have been edited for space. The full interview can be seen online.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What prompted you to file Senate Bill 1498?<\/strong><\/p>\n A 14-year old boy, direct-filed into Florida\u2019s adult criminal justice system in the year I first filed this legislation, would be looking at becoming a 23-year old man this year. Our state leads the nation in the rate of juvenile direct filings, the ability of a state attorney to bypass the juvenile justice system and the courts\u00a0and send kids directly into the adult criminal punishment system. In the nine years the Legislature has consistently failed to embrace this reform legislation, too many kids were condemned in adult courts\u00a0and too many kids were sent to adult prisons, stripped of ever having a second chance for offenses that, in most cases, were not violent. This is why I\u2019ve re-filed this legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Describe the current process. What changes would you like to see?<\/strong><\/p>\n Under Florida law, there are three ways a child can be prosecuted as an adult: judicial waiver, grand jury indictment, or direct-file. The latter is the most common\u00a0and is completely discretionary, which means each state attorney retains sole authority on whether to push a child directly into the adult system.\u00a0This is also one of the most troubling aspects of direct-file. By bypassing a judge\u2019s approval, kids as young as 14 can be directly transferred into the adult criminal system without so much as a court hearing. My bill would ban the discretionary direct-filing of children up to 15 years of age, among other reforms. And, a youth of 16 or 17 may only be direct-filed if a forcible felony was committed.<\/p>\n\n 3.\u00a0 \u00a0 Do prosecutors have too much leeway in charging youth as adults?<\/strong><\/p>\n The danger in ceding so much authority over a child\u2019s life to just one individual is palpable. Approximately 98% of juveniles transferred into adult court are direct-file.<\/p>\n There is no standardized process; disparities hinge on jurisdiction and the unchecked power of a prosecutor. Two identical crimes can have two completely different outcomes, both wholly dependent on the predilection \u2013 or the whims \u2013 of a state attorney. It also can hinge on the color of a child\u2019s skin. In Florida, data from the Department of Juvenile Justice has shown that the majority of children sent to adult court were Black. Once a child has been charged as an adult, they are held in adult detention facilities. And the decision cannot be repealed or revoked by a judge.<\/p>\n\n 4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What are your bill\u2019s chances of getting through a Legislature that embraces a tough-on-crime\u00a0culture?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a lot easier to govern by slogan than it is by sound policy and sound reason. Tough- on-crime\u00a0has been neither good policy nor well-reasoned. It\u2019s become a catch-all phrase enabling lawmakers to dump by the thousands children they don\u2019t want to deal with. And by doing so, they\u2019ve boosted the odds that these kids tossed into the adult prison system will recidivate, costing society much more in the long run. Their criminal records will follow them for the rest of their lives, adversely impacting everything from education to careers, credit records to insurance rates. Hardly an effective way of solving crime in our communities or showing these young offenders a better way to turn their lives around.<\/p>\n 5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What can be done to better engage the public in this issue?<\/strong><\/p>\n The public needs to understand that a one-size-fits-all approach typically doesn\u2019t work when trying to solve societal problems, especially when we\u2019re dealing with kids too young and still too immature to realize the seriousness of their mistakes. That\u2019s not to say there should be no consequences. Of course there should be. And children need to learn accountability. That\u2019s how they learn and grow into responsible adults. But to place the future of these kids in the hands of a lone state attorney far too often condemns them to indefinite punishment, their lives permanently anchored to a ball and chain. For the sake of our communities, and for the sake of our children, we have to do better.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n