US v. Juvenile Male, Criminal Action No. 95-00052-C.

• Decision Date: 28 December 1995
• Docket Number: Criminal Action No. 95-00052-C.
• Citation: 915 F. Supp. 789
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. JUVENILE MALE, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia

915 F. Supp. 789

UNITED STATES of America v. JUVENILE MALE, Defendant.

Criminal Action No. 95-00052-C.

United States District Court, W.D. Virginia, Charlottesville Division.

December 28, 1995.

Nancy F. Spodick, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Charlottesville, VA, for the United States.

J. Thomas Love, Charlottesville, VA, for Juvenille Male.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MICHAEL, Senior District Judge.

The government filed an information against the juvenile in this case, charging him with armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113, and with conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The juvenile was 16 years old on the date of the alleged robbery. The government filed a motion to transfer the case from juvenile court to federal court so that the juvenile could be tried as an adult. 18 U.S.C. § 5032.

In support of its motion to transfer, the government filed a certification stating that the juvenile is charged with a violent felony and that there is a substantial federal interest in the case which warrants the exercise of federal jurisdiction. The juvenile contends that he cannot be transferred because a substantial federal interest in this case is lacking, the government's certification to the contrary notwithstanding. He urges the court to review the government's certification, arguing that the absence of a substantial federal interest strips the court of jurisdiction over the transfer proceeding.

The court held a hearing on the government's motion to transfer on November 30, 1995. At that hearing, the court granted that motion from the bench, ruling that the court, absent bad faith, did not have authority under 18 U.S.C. § 5032 to review the substance of the government's certification of jurisdiction. The court then entered a written Order granting the transfer motion pursuant to the mandatory transfer provision of § 5032.

Because the issue of the proper scope of judicial review to be afforded jurisdictional certifications under § 5032 is one which has only sparsely been addressed, the court supplements its ruling, made from the bench, on the jurisdictional issue presented.

I.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5031 et seq. (West Supp. 1995) forms the framework for the analysis. Section 5032 provides that the United States Attorney General may proceed against a juvenile in federal court if she, or her delegate, certifies to the district court "that (1) the juvenile court or other appropriate court of a State does not have jurisdiction or refuses to assume jurisdiction over said juvenile with respect to such alleged act of juvenile delinquency, (2) the State does not have available programs and services adequate for the needs of juveniles, or (3) the offense charged is a crime of violence that is a felony ...," and "that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case or the offense to warrant the exercise of Federal jurisdiction." 18 U.S.C. § 5032.¹

On October 25, 1995 the United States Attorney, acting on behalf of the United States Attorney General, see 28 C.F.R. § 0.57, certified to the court that the juvenile is charged with a violent felony as described in § 5032, and that there is a substantial federal interest in the case which warrants the exercise of federal jurisdiction. The primary issue before the court is whether it can review the government's determination that there is a substantial federal interest, given that the part of § 5032 addressing certification is silent with respect to judicial review. The court concludes that it cannot.

II.

The juvenile cites United States v. Male Juvenile, 844 F.Supp. 280 (E.D.Va.1994) for the proposition that government certifications issued pursuant to § 5032 are reviewable by the district court. In that case, the juvenile was charged in an information with armed bank robbery. The government certified that there was a substantial federal interest in the case. The court, however, rejected that certification, holding that the case did not present a substantial federal interest. The court then granted the juvenile's motion to dismiss. The court's reasoning is set out below:

The fact that this case does not raise a substantial Federal interest is obvious on the face of the certification. A mere glance at the Senate Judiciary Committee Report relating to the addition of subsection 3 i.e. the "substantial federal interest" provision provides ample confirmation that this crime was not intended by Congress to be included among those which would precipitate jurisdiction over a juvenile. The Report states that:

the Committee intends that a determination that there is a "substantial Federal Interest" be based on a finding that the nature of the offense or the circumstances of the case give rise to special Federal concerns. Examples of such cases could include an assault on, or assassination of, a Federal official, an aircraft hijacking, a kidnaping where state boundaries are crossed, a major espionage or sabotage offense, participation in large-scale drug trafficking, or significant or willful destruction of property belonging to the United States. S.Rep. No. 225, 98th Cong., 2nd Sess. 389, reprinted in 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 3182, 3529.

Though the list of crimes is not exhaustive, a single instance of ordinary bank robbery is clearly different in kind from those offenses suggested by the Report. If the offenses at issue were deemed to be of similar "substantial Federal interest", the list of offenses that would likewise fall within the ambit of the statute would be extensive. In fact, such concern could be found in virtually any case involving a violent Federal felony and the "substantial Federal interest" language would be reduced to mere surplusage. Therefore, since the Government's interest in an ordinary bank robbery, absent some allegation of a special Federal concern, per se does not rise to the level of a substantial Federal interest, this Court does not believe that the certification is in compliance with § 5032.

United States v. Male Juvenile, 844 F.Supp at 283-84.

Thus, that court made an independent evaluation of the propriety of the government's certification. The juvenile presently before this court asks it to do the same. However, the court finds that there is substantial case law contrary to the conclusion reached by that court.

In United States v. Vancier, 515 F.2d 1378 (2d Cir.) cert. denied, 423 U.S. 857, 96 S.Ct. 107, 46 L.Ed.2d 82 (1975), the court held that certification is not subject to judicial review because the Act contains no provision for judicial review of certification and because the Act does not contain standards by which a court could review a certification. Similarly, in United States v. C.G., 736 F.2d 1474 (11th Cir.1984), the court held that, absent bad faith, review of certifications is limited to technical compliance with § 5032. The court held that the district court could not review whether the matters certified to are accurate.

The court in Male Juvenile distinguishes this case law by arguing that the cases were decided prior to the enactment in 1984 of the "substantial federal interest" justification for federal jurisdiction under § 5032. In other words, when the cases were decided, jurisdiction under § 5032 had to be premised on a certification that (1) the juvenile court or other appropriate court of a State did not have jurisdiction or refused to assume jurisdiction over the juvenile, or (2) the State did not have available programs and services adequate for the needs of juveniles. In distinguishing these cases, it was the Male Juvenile court's view that district courts have "a much more significant interest in ensuring that the `substantial federal interest' requirement is closely followed than the requirements stated in the first two justifications for certification." 844 F.Supp. at 284. The court reached this conclusion because, in its view, by abstaining from review of certification, the district court "would open the doors to Federal court whenever a juvenile has committed a violent felony for which there is concurrent jurisdiction. This would clearly contravene the purpose of the certification requirement which encompasses a recognition of the general policy of federal abstention." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

This court respectfully disagrees with the ruling in Male Juvenile for several reasons. First, the court is unpersuaded of the force of the "floodgates" argument presented by the court in Male Juvenile. Juvenile cases constitute only a minor subset of criminal prosecutions. Furthermore, where courts fail to engage in substantive review of certification under § 5032, it is doubtful that all violent felonies committed by juveniles over 16 years of age will end up as adult prosecutions in federal court, assuming that the federal courts have concurrent jurisdiction over the offenses. Even if the door to federal court were open to most violent juvenile cases, there is simply no basis for assuming the U.S. Attorney would walk through it at every conceivable opportunity, any more than there is a basis for assuming that the U.S. Attorney will seek indictments against all conceivable defendants in a given criminal case. Rather, only those cases deemed by the U.S. Attorney to implicate a "substantial federal interest" would be transferred to district court. Simply stated, this court will not assume that the U.S. Attorney's Office will abuse the discretion given it under the statute.

Second, if, as held by the Second Circuit in Vancier and by the Eleventh Circuit in C.G., a court is precluded from making an inquiry into the first two bases of jurisdiction enumerated under § 5032, that is, to the availability of an appropriate state forum or of special juvenile programs in the state, it appears to this court that it is necessarily precluded from making an inquiry into the propriety of the government's determination that a substantial...