US v. Juvenile Male

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:09-cr-00168-BO-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998485539] [09-5148]

US v. Juvenile Male

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Date Filed: 12/15/2010

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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 09-5148 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JUVENILE MALE, Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Terrence W. Boyle, District Judge. (5:09-cr-00168-BO-1) Submitted: November 19, 2010 Decided: December 15, 2010

Before DAVIS and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Jorgelina E. Araneda, ARANEDA LAW FIRM, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. George E. B. Holding, United States Attorney, Anne M. Hayes, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Dockets.Justia.com

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PER CURIAM: Juvenile Male appeals the district court's order

transferring him to adult status under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031-5042 (2006). was charged in a three-count juvenile Juvenile Male with

information

interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1951, 2 (2006) (Count One), using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2006) (Count Two), and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5), 924 (2006) (Count Three). The Government

certified to the district court that "there is a substantial Federal interest in the case and the offenses, to warrant the exercise of federal jurisdiction due to violent nature of the offenses." Juvenile Male argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction to transfer him to adult status under 18 U.S.C. § 5032. Questions involving subject matter jurisdiction are United States v. White, 139 F.3d 998, 999-

reviewed de novo.

1000 (4th Cir. 1998). Federal jurisdiction involving a juvenile alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency is proper if the Government certifies that "the offense charged is a crime of violence that is a felony . . . and that there is a substantial 2

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Federal

interest

in

the

case

or

the

offense

to

warrant

the

exercise of Federal jurisdiction." The Government's exists certification is generally

18 U.S.C. § 5032(3) (2006). that a substantial as a federal of

interest

regarded

matter

prosecutorial discretion, and while this decision is not immune from judicial review, we accord the decision substantial

deference.

United States v. Juvenile Male #1, 86 F.3d 1314,

1319 (4th Cir. 1996). In United States v. T.M., 413 F.3d 420, 427 (4th Cir. 2005), we held that a substantial federal interest exists in § 924(c) prosecutions. Juvenile Male attempts to distinguish

T.M. by arguing that in T.M., the victim was actually beaten and shot, whereas in his offense, the victim was not. Juvenile Male

claims that the conduct in T.M. was more violent and egregious than the conduct in which he engaged. We conclude that this

distinction is of no consequence; it does not alter our previous holding that because using a firearm during a crime of violence carries measure harsh to penalties that Congress use of enacted as the an urgent

control

criminal

firearms,

Government The

possesses a substantial interest in § 924(c) prosecutions. district court properly exercised jurisdiction in this case. Next, abused its Juvenile Male in argues that the to district adult

court status

discretion

transferring

him

because it wrongfully found that his chances of rehabilitation 3

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were minimal.

Juvenile Male also argues that the district court

gave insufficient weight to his lack of a prior criminal record, and did not consider that at the end of any juvenile sentence Juvenile Male would be deported. We review for abuse of discretion a district court's decision to transfer a juvenile to adult prosecution. United A

States v. Juvenile Male, 554 F.3d 456, 465 (4th Cir. 2009).

district court abuses its discretion if it fails to make the required factual findings, or if those factual findings are

clearly erroneous. (4th Cir. 2005).

United States v. Robinson, 404 F.3d 850, 858 We review de novo the district court's legal See United

rulings relating to the entry of the transfer order.

States v. Soriano-Jarquin, 492 F.3d 495, 501-02 (4th Cir. 2007). A juvenile may be transferred to adult status, "if the district court finds, after hearing, such transfer would be in the interest of justice." 18 U.S.C. § 5032. In making that

determination, the district court must consider the following six factors: (1) the juvenile's age and social background; (2) the nature of the alleged offense; (3) the extent and nature of the juvenile's prior delinquency record; (4) the juvenile's

present intellectual development and psychological maturity; (5) the nature of past treatment efforts and the juvenile's response to such efforts; and (6) the availability of programs designed to treat the juvenile's behavioral 4 problems. Id. The

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Government has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that a transfer to adult status would be in the The

interest of justice.

Juvenile Male #1, 86 F.3d at 1323.

district court may determine what weight to give the various factors. Id. In the "interest of justice" analysis, the

district court must weigh the rehabilitative purposes of the juvenile justice system against the need to protect the public from violent individuals. After district court reviewing did not Id. the abuse record, its we conclude in that the

discretion

transferring

Juvenile Male to adult status.

The district court made the

appropriate factual findings, carefully considered those facts as applied to the transfer factors, and correctly weighed all of the factors to determine that transfer of Juvenile Male was in the interest of justice. We discern no sound basis to disturb

the district court's judgment. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order. dispense with oral argument because the facts and We

legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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