U.S. v. T.F.F., 94-5978

• Decision Date: 30 May 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-5978,94-5978
• Citation: 55 F.3d 1118
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. T.F.F., A Juvenile Male, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1118

55 F.3d 1118

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. T.F.F., A Juvenile Male, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 94-5978.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued May 4, 1995.

Decided May 30, 1995.

David P. Folmar (argued and briefed), Office of the U.S. Atty., Knoxville, TN, for plaintiff-appellee U.S.

Thomas J. Wright (argued and briefed), Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Greeneville, TN, for defendant-appellant Juvenile Male.

Before: KENNEDY and SUHRHEINRICH, Circuit Judges; CHURCHILL, District Judge. ^*

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge.

Defendant, a juvenile male, was charged in a sealed two-count information with carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2119, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c). Defendant appeals the District Court's order granting the United States' motion to prosecute defendant as an adult pursuant to the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act ("FJDA"), 18 U.S.C. Sec. 5032. For the following reasons, we affirm.

I. Facts and Background

"The purpose of the FJDA is to 'remove juveniles from the ordinary criminal process in order to avoid the stigma of a prior criminal conviction and to encourage treatment and rehabilitation.' " United States v. One Juvenile Male, 40 F.3d 841, 844 (6th Cir.1994) (quoting United States v. Brian N., 900 F.2d 218, 220 (10th Cir.1990)). This purpose, however, must be balanced against the need to protect the public from violent offenders. Id. The FJDA, therefore, provides that a juvenile who commits a felony when he is fifteen or older may be proceeded against as an adult in federal district court if it would be "in the interests of justice." 18 U.S.C. Sec. 5032.

The FJDA directs the court to consider and make findings upon the following factors when determining the appropriateness of a transfer: (1) the age and social background of the juvenile; (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 those efforts; and (6) the availability of programs designed to treat the juvenile's behavioral problems. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 5032. The court, however, is free to determine how much weight to give each factor. See One Juvenile Male, 40 F.3d at 845-46.

A district court's transfer order is appealable before trial under the collateral order doctrine. Id. at 843-44. We review the District Court's order for abuse of discretion. Id. at 845. An abuse of discretion may occur if the district court fails to make the required factual findings, or if those findings are clearly erroneous. See United States v. Juvenile Male # 1, 47 F.3d 68, 71 (2d Cir.1995). In the present case, the District Court considered each of the six factors listed above. The District Court noted that the defendant, who was seventeen years and ten months when the crimes were allegedly committed, did not have a supportive family environment. Defendant had been placed in the custody of his grandmother because his mother was unable to care for him. Many members of defendant's family, including his grandmother, had been convicted of drug offenses. Defendant dropped out of school in the eighth grade. The District Court concluded that defendant's grandmother was incapable of providing guidance to defendant.

The District Court noted that defendant had been involved with the Hamilton County Juvenile Court since he was thirteen years old. Defendant had been convicted of malicious mischief and attempted auto theft. Defendant had been in house arrest and intensive probation, but failed to comply with the restrictions placed upon him. Additionally, defendant had been committed to and fled from two Tennessee Department of Youth Development facilities. In fact, defendant had recently run away from one of the facilities when the crimes in this case occurred.

The District Court then considered defendant's intellectual and psychological maturity. Psychological tests revealed that defendant was within the low average to borderline range of intellectual ability. The psychologist who examined defendant concluded that defendant was self-centered, and had little awareness of events happening around him or of the impact of his behavior on others. The psychologist further concluded that defendant was antagonistic and harbored significant internal anger. The District Court noted that the juvenile system had tried to no avail to control defendant, and that defendant could not remain in the Tennessee juvenile system after he reached nineteen. The Court heard testimony from two probation officers about possible placements for defendant in the state juvenile system. At the time of the transfer hearing, the Hamilton County Juvenile Court had determined that defendant would be transferred and tried as an adult on the state criminal charges stemming from the April 29, 1994 incidents.

The court also considered the nature of the offense, assuming for the purpose of the transfer hearing that defendant had committed the alleged offense. See One Juvenile Male, 40 F.3d at 845. The Information alleged that on April 29, 1994, defendant and several other young males approached a car in Chattanooga, Tennessee and removed the driver from the car at gunpoint. The driver was searched, robbed, forced to "bark like a dog," and then placed into the trunk. Defendant and another youth then drove around Chattanooga and Bradley Tennessee, stopping to get gas and pick up a friend. The three youths stopped the car in Cleveland, Tennessee and removed the driver from the trunk. The driver was told to cover his eyes and walk into a field. Defendant stated, "Let's shoot him in the knees." The driver was then shot four to five times with two firearms. The bullets entered the driver's right side, his arm, and the trunk of his body. The youths then left the area in the driver's car, and the driver crawled out of the field and summoned help.

After considering all of the factors, the District Court concluded that "the interest of justice requires that the public be protected from [defendant] and that he be transferred for prosecution as an adult." The District Court emphasized that the state juvenile system had tried unsuccessfully to control defendant's behavior, and that the offense was particularly egregious.

II. Failure to Develop an Adequate Record

Defendant first argues that the District Court abused its discretion by failing to develop a record regarding the availability of rehabilitative juvenile programs in Tennessee and elsewhere. At the hearing, Joseph Oldham, a state juvenile probation officer, testified about available juvenile facilities in Tennessee. Oldham, who worked for the Department of Youth Development ("DYD"), was familiar with defendant. Defendant previously had been committed to and run away from DYD's facilities. Oldham testified that if defendant were committed to DYD, he probably would be sent to Taft, "which is the institution that would house the most unruly," or another high security facility. Oldham explained that these facilities offered programs for juveniles until they were nineteen. Carl Miller, an intensive probation officer for the Hamilton County Juvenile Court, also testified. Miller had been defendant's probation officer. He testified that defendant had been unwilling to work with him, and that he previously had recommended that defendant be committed to DYD, where he could be placed in a secure facility.

The District Court reasoned that because defendant was eighteen at the time of the transfer hearing, there was little time left to rehabilitate defendant within the juvenile system. The Court also noted that the juvenile system had been unable to successfully control defendant's behavior thus far. The Court concluded that the state system could not offer defendant any prospect of rehabilitation. This finding is well supported by the record and is not clearly erroneous. We reject defendant's assertion that the District Court's findings are inadequate because it did not examine the availability of facilities outside of Tennessee. Although the FJDA requires the Court to consider available juvenile treatment options, the District Court is not required to conduct a nationwide search for such programs. ¹

III. Failure to Consider the Presumption in Favor of Rehabilitation

Defendant also contends that the District Court abused its discretion by failing to consider the presumption in favor of juvenile rehabilitation. Defendant bases this argument on the fact that the District Court never mentioned the presumption in favor of treatment at the transfer hearing, and did not expressly state that the presumption had been rebutted.

At a transfer hearing, the government bears the burden of rebutting the statutory presumption of juvenile treatment. See United States v. A.R., 38 F.3d 699, 703 (3d Cir.1994). "Thus, a motion to transfer is properly granted where a court determines that the risk of harm to society posed by affording the defendant more lenient treatment within the juvenile justice system outweighs the defendant's chance for rehabilitation." One Juvenile Male, 40 F.3d at 844. The FJDA requires the District Court to make findings regarding each of six enumerated factors, and to consider each factor in determining whether the transfer would be in the "interests of justice." 18 U.S.C. Sec. 5032. In the case at hand, the District Court considered and made findings regarding each factor, and...