USA v. I.L.

• Citation: 614 F.3d 817
• Decision Date: 05 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-3403.,09-3403.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. I.L., Juvenile Offender, Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

614 F.3d 817

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
v.
I.L., Juvenile Offender, Appellant.

No. 09-3403.

United States Court of Appeals,Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: April 16, 2010.
Filed: Aug. 5, 2010.

614 F.3d 817

Clarence E. Mock, argued, Oakland, NE, for appellant.

Sandra L. Denton, AUSA, argued, Omaha, NE, for appellee.

Before RILEY, Chief Judge, COLLOTON and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

RILEY, Chief Judge.

I.L., a juvenile, appeals the district court's ¹ order transferring her for adult criminal prosecution on assault and murder charges. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

The government filed a juvenile delinquency information in the district court

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against I.L., accusing her of committing acts of delinquency on the Omaha Indian Reservation in July 2008. I.L. was born in August 1992. The parties agree, if I.L. were an adult, the information would allege two criminal offenses, (1) assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian country, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(a)(3) and 1153, and (2) second-degree murder in Indian country, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 1153. ² The United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska certified both offenses are felony crimes of violence and there is a substantial federal interest to warrant the exercise of federal jurisdiction. See 18 U.S.C. § 5032.

The government moved the district court to transfer I.L. for adult criminal prosecution, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032. I.L. resisted the government's motion, arguing (1) the district court lacked authority to transfer I.L. without the Omaha Tribe's consent, and (2) in any event, I.L.'s transfer was not in the interest of justice. The district court granted the government's motion, and I.L. appeals. We retain jurisdiction under the collateral order exception to the final judgment rule. See United States v. A.W.J., 804 F.2d 492, 492-93 (8th Cir.1986) (holding the circuit courts of appeals have jurisdiction to review a district court's ruling on a motion to transfer a juvenile for adult criminal prosecution).

II. DISCUSSIONA. Standard of Review

Ordinarily we afford the district court a measure of deference in its decision to transfer a juvenile for adult criminal prosecution, because the district court is in a better institutional position to gauge whether the juvenile's transfer would be in the interest of justice. See, e.g., United States v. Juvenile MLA, 157 F.3d 616, 617 (8th Cir.1998) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion and examining underlying factual findings for clear error). Because I.L. abandons her argument that her transfer is not in the interest of justice, the only issue in this appeal is a legal one-whether the district court correctly construed § 5032 to grant the authority to transfer I.L. for adult criminal prosecution without the Omaha Tribe's consent. Our review, therefore, is de novo. See Kramer v. Perez, 595 F.3d 825, 829 (8th Cir.2010) (“[T]he district court's statutory construction is subject to de novo review.”).

B. Fourth Unnumbered Paragraph of 18 U.S.C. § 5032

At issue is the fourth unnumbered paragraph of § 5032, one of the United States Code's interpretive challenges. Only the paragraph's first three sentences are relevant here. The salient portions of those several sentences provide:

A juvenile who is alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency and who is not surrendered to State authorities shall be proceeded against under this chapter unless he has requested in writing upon advice of counsel to be proceeded against as an adult, except that, with respect to a juvenile fifteen years and older alleged to have committed an act after his fifteenth birthday which if committed by an adult would be a felony that is a crime of violence ..., criminal prosecution on the basis of the alleged act may be begun by motion to transfer of the Attorney General in the appropriate district court of the United States, if such court finds, after hearing, such transfer would be in the interest of justice. In the application

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of the preceding sentence, if the crime of violence is an offense under section 113(a) ... [or] 1111 ..., “thirteen” shall be substituted for “fifteen” and “thirteenth” shall be substituted for “fifteenth.” Notwithstanding sections 1152 and 1153, no person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government shall be subject to the preceding sentence for any offense the Federal jurisdiction for which is predicated solely on Indian country ..., and which has occurred within the boundaries of such Indian country, unless the governing body of the tribe has elected that the preceding sentence have effect over land and persons subject to its criminal jurisdiction.

1. First Sentence

The first sentence creates a general rule that juveniles should not be prosecuted as adults in federal court. See 18 U.S.C. § 5032. The first sentence then carves out two exceptions to the general rule, namely, when (1) the juvenile consents to transfer, or (2) the juvenile is at least fifteen years old, the juvenile allegedly commits after her fifteenth birthday what would be a felony crime of violence were she an adult, and transfer is in the interest of justice. See id. I.L. concedes the second exception to the general rule applies in her case. I.L. is seventeen years old, the government alleges I.L. committed assault with a dangerous weapon and second-degree murder after her fifteenth birthday, and I.L. does not appeal the district court's determination that transfer is in the interest of justice.

2. Second Sentence

The second sentence broadens the second exception to cover thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds when the government alleges the juvenile committed one of a narrow class of felony crimes of violence, including assault with a dangerous weapon and second-degree murder. Id. When such crimes are alleged, the district court may transfer certain juveniles as young as thirteen years old for adult criminal prosecution so long as the transfer is in the interest of justice. Id. Because I.L. already falls within the second exception of...