The New Jersey Supreme Court, in State in the Interest of V.A., a Minor, made it harder for prosecutors to justify the decision to waive a New Jersey juvenile court defendant to adult criminal court. Previously, a prosecutor’s decision to waive juveniles to adult criminal court once they reached the age of 16 was only subject to reversal if that decision constituted a patent and gross abuse of discretion. Since the decision to treat a juvenile as an adult criminal defendant carries serious penal consequences for the juvenile, the Supreme Court found that a lesser standard of review, abuse of discretion, was a more appropriate safeguard against arbitrary or abusive actions by a prosecutor.
If your child has become involved with a Family Court Juvenile Delinquency matter, please call New Jersey juvenile court and criminal lawyers Schwartz & Posnock at (732) 544-1460 for assistance.