A juvenile court will consider the child’s prior delinquency history, including any past treatments efforts and how the child responded. The court will also determine whether the offense was a crime against a person or property (more weight in favor if against a person) (T.C.A. 37-1-134). Next, the court will determine if the crime was completed in an aggravated or premeditated way and if there is a chance of rehabilitation. One of the last things a court looks at is whether the child’s actions are associated with a criminal gang offense under Tennessee law (T.C.A. 37-1-134). After being transferred, the juvenile the child will be dealt with as an adult. If the child is found to be innocent, or if the charge that the juvenile is transferred on is dismissed then juvenile court shall retain jurisdiction over that child. If a person eighteen years or older is charged with an offense that supposedly occurred before them becoming eighteen, then the charges have to brought in juvenile court. Any statements the child makes in juvenile court during the transfer hearing is not admissible in any hearing outside juvenile …show more content…
Nevertheless, if a person is sixteen and older, they can be moved to adult court for less severe offenses like possession for resale of marijuana which is a class E felony in Tennessee, the lowest classification of a felony. The current system requires the court to determine many factors before agreeing to transfer a child to an adult court. So the current procedure is satisfactory. In my jurisdiction, the majority of juvenile transfer hearings on occurring when the alleged criminal activity is too dangerous to ignore and requires law enforcement and the judicial system to weight the safety of the