2005 Connecticut Code - Sec. 46b-127. (Formerly Sec. 51-308). Transfer of child charged with a felony to the regular criminal docket.

      Sec. 46b-127. (Formerly Sec. 51-308). Transfer of child charged with a felony to the regular criminal docket. (a) The court shall automatically transfer from the docket for juvenile matters to the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court the case of any child charged with the commission of a capital felony, a class A or B felony or a violation of section 53a-54d, provided such offense was committed after such child attained the age of fourteen years and counsel has been appointed for such child if such child is indigent. Such counsel may appear with the child but shall not be permitted to make any argument or file any motion in opposition to the transfer. The child shall be arraigned in the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court at the next court date following such transfer, provided any proceedings held prior to the finalization of such transfer shall be private and shall be conducted in such parts of the courthouse or the building wherein court is located as shall be separate and apart from the other parts of the court which are then being held for proceedings pertaining to adults charged with crimes. The file of any case so transferred shall remain sealed until the end of the tenth working day following such arraignment unless the state's attorney has filed a motion pursuant to this subsection, in which case such file shall remain sealed until the court makes a decision on the motion. A state's attorney may, not later than ten working days after such arraignment, file a motion to transfer the case of any child charged with the commission of a class B felony or a violation of subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53a-70 to the docket for juvenile matters for proceedings in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The court sitting for the regular criminal docket shall, after hearing and not later than ten working days after the filing of such motion, decide such motion.

      (b) Upon motion of a juvenile prosecutor and order of the court, the case of any child charged with the commission of a class C or D felony or an unclassified felony shall be transferred from the docket for juvenile matters to the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court, provided such offense was committed after such child attained the age of fourteen years and the court finds ex parte that there is probable cause to believe the child has committed the act for which he is charged. The file of any case so transferred shall remain sealed until such time as the court sitting for the regular criminal docket accepts such transfer. The court sitting for the regular criminal docket may return any such case to the docket for juvenile matters not later than ten working days after the date of the transfer for proceedings in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. The child shall be arraigned in the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court by the next court date following such transfer, provided any proceedings held prior to the finalization of such transfer shall be private and shall be conducted in such parts of the courthouse or the building wherein court is located as shall be separate and apart from the other parts of the court which are then being held for proceedings pertaining to adults charged with crimes.

      (c) Upon the effectuation of the transfer, such child shall stand trial and be sentenced, if convicted, as if he were sixteen years of age. Such child shall receive credit against any sentence imposed for time served in a juvenile facility prior to the effectuation of the transfer. A child who has been transferred may enter a guilty plea to a lesser offense if the court finds that such plea is made knowingly and voluntarily. Any child transferred to the regular criminal docket who pleads guilty to a lesser offense shall not resume his status as a juvenile regarding said offense. If the action is dismissed or nolled or if such child is found not guilty of the charge for which he was transferred or of any lesser included offenses, the child shall resume his status as a juvenile until he attains the age of sixteen years.

      (d) Any child transferred to the regular criminal docket of the Superior Court who is detained shall be in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction upon the finalization of such transfer. A transfer shall be final (1) upon the expiration of ten working days after the arraignment if no motion has been filed by the state's attorney pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or, if such motion has been filed, upon the decision of the court to deny such motion, or (2) upon the court accepting the transfer pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. Any child returned to the docket for juvenile matters who is detained shall be in the custody of the Judicial Department.

      (e) The transfer of a child to a Department of Correction facility shall be limited to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section and said subsection shall not be construed to permit the transfer of or otherwise reduce or eliminate any other population of juveniles in detention or confinement within the Judicial Department or the Department of Children and Families.

      (P.A. 75-620, S. 1-4; P.A. 76-194, S. 3; 76-436, S. 18, 19, 20, 681; P.A. 79-581, S. 3; P.A. 83-402, S. 2; P.A. 86-185, S. 2; P.A. 90-136, S. 2; 90-187, S. 2, 3; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2, S. 6; P.A. 95-225, S. 13; P.A. 97-4, S. 1, 2; 97-319, S. 21, 22; P.A. 98-256, S. 3; P.A. 04-127, S. 2; 04-148, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 76-194 required that child "be sentenced, if convicted" as if he were sixteen; P.A. 76-436 revised provisions to reflect transfer of juvenile court duties to superior court, substituting references to criminal and juvenile dockets for references to said courts, etc., effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 79-581 clarified and qualified circumstances under which matters transferred from juvenile to criminal docket and deleted requirements that transfer is contingent upon investigation finding that no suitable institution for care of children exists to which child in question may be committed and that court facilities for criminal sessions and institutions for those sixteen or over are suitable for child's care and confinement and deleted former Subsecs. (b) and (c) re establishment of maximum security facility for care and treatment of children under superior court jurisdiction and re court-ordered evaluation to determine whether institutions for children or institutions for those sixteen and over are more suitable for care and treatment of child in question; Sec. 17-60b temporarily renumbered as Sec. 51-308 and ultimately transferred to Sec. 46b-127 in 1979; P.A. 83-402 qualified reference to commission of murder in Subdiv. (1) by specifying murder "under sections 53a-54a to 53a-54d, inclusive" and required that written findings be made rather than an investigation prior to transfer; P.A. 86-185 added provision that a transfer order shall be a final judgment for purposes of appeal; P.A. 90-136 excluded from the provisions of Subdiv. (2) a child referred for the commission of the class A felony of murder, added provisions re the rights of the child and the procedure applicable at the hearing, authorized credit against any sentence imposed for time served in a juvenile facility prior to transfer, authorized a child to plead guilty to a lesser offense and provided that a child who so pleads shall not resume his juvenile status re said offense, and replaced a reference to a finding of "innocent" with a finding of "not guilty"; P.A. 90-187 added provision requiring a transferred child to be maintained in a facility for children and youth rather than in a correctional facility until he is sixteen years of age or sentenced, whichever occurs first, effective July 1, 1991; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-2 designated existing provisions re children required to be transferred to the regular criminal docket as Subsec. (a) and amended said Subsec. to add a new Subdiv. (2) requiring the transfer of any child referred for the violation of certain firearm-related offenses, renumbering the remaining Subdivs. accordingly, to exclude from Subdivs. (3) and (4) any child referred for a violation of any provision specified in Subdiv. (2), to add provision requiring the prosecuting authority for juvenile matters to consider whether the child is a person with mental retardation or suffers from a substantial mental disorder in deciding whether to seek the transfer of the child under Subdiv. (2) and to add provision authorizing the child to file a notice of intent to request a hearing under Subsec. (c), designated existing provisions re probable cause hearing as Subsec. (b), added Subsec. (c) re a hearing for a child referred pursuant to Subsec. (a)(2) at which he may present evidence that he should not be transferred to the regular criminal docket and the factors that must be proven at such hearing to avoid such a transfer, deleted the provision that a transfer order is a final judgment for purposes of appeal and designated existing provisions re post-transfer procedures as Subsec. (d); P.A. 95-225 substantially revised section by deleting former Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c), adding new Subsec. (a) re automatic transfer of a child charged with the commission of a capital felony, a class A or B felony or a violation of section 53a-54d, adding new Subsec. (b) re transfer of a child charged with a class C or D felony or an unclassified felony and redesignating former Subsec. (d) re post-transfer procedures as Subsec. (c); P.A. 97-4 amended Subsec. (c) to delete provision that prohibited a child being placed in a correctional facility and required the child to be maintained in a facility for children and youth until he attains the age of sixteen years or until he is sentenced, whichever occurs first, added Subsec. (d) providing that a child transferred to the regular criminal docket shall be in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction upon the finalization of the transfer and specifying when a transfer is final, and added Subsec. (e) limiting the transfer of children and juveniles to a Department of Correction facility, effective March 20, 1997; P.A. 97-319 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re appointment of counsel for indigent child, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-256 amended Subsec. (a) to require the file of a transferred case to remain sealed "until the end of the tenth working day following such arraignment" rather than "until the tenth day following such arraignment" and to replace "disposition" with "proceedings", amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the case shall be transferred upon "order of the court" rather than upon "approval by the court", to establish a deadline for a court to return a case to the docket for juvenile matters of "not later than ten working days after the date of the transfer" and to require arraignment "by the next court date" rather than "at the next court date" and amended Subsec. (c) to make provision mandating that a child resume his status as a juvenile when found not guilty of the transferred charge also apply when found not guilty of any lesser included offenses; P.A. 04-127 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding provisions re privacy and location of proceedings held prior to finalization of transfer and made a technical change in Subsec. (a); P.A. 04-148 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize the transfer of the case of a child charged with a violation of Sec. 53a-70(a)(2) to the docket for juvenile matters.

      See Sec. 18-65a re confinement of young and teenage women and female children.

      See Sec. 18-73 re confinement of male children and youths.

      Annotation to former section 17-60b:

      Cited. 42 CS 426-429, 432, 497.

      Annotations to present section:

      Cited. 195 C. 303, 310. Cited. 206 C. 323, 324, 326, 327, 330, 331. Section "required a transfer of defendant back to Juvenile Matters after it had been found that there was no probable cause to believe he had committed murder". Id., 346, 347, 350, 353-362. Cited. 207 C. 270, 275. Cited. 210 C. 435, 443. Cited. 211 C. 151, 158, 166. Cited. Id., 289, 296, 298, 299, 301, 304-307, 312, 318. Cited. 214 C. 454, 455, 457, 460, 461. Cited. 215 C. 277-282. Cited. 218 C. 714, 715, 717. Cited. 220 C. 162, 165. Cited. 221 C. 109, 110, 112, 114, 116, 119, 124, 125. Cited. 224 C. 29, 38. Cited. 226 C. 497, 499, 500. Requirements by section for adjudication of juvenile matter are not contemporaneous with procedural requirements of Sec. 54-46a. 229 C. 691-695, 697, 699, 701, 702. Cited. 233 C. 44, 64. 1994 amendment affects substantive rights and therefore applies prospectively. Judgment of appellate court reversed. 237 C. 364, 366, 369-378. P.A. 94-2 Sec. 6, July Spec. Sess. cited. Id. Section must be read to authorize the same sentence for those children convicted of lesser included offenses after a full trial as for those who plead guilty to lesser included offenses. 240 C. 727. Cited. Id., 743. Section, as amended by Sec. 2 of P.A. 86-185, does not apply retroactively. 258 C. 621.

      Cited. 20 CA 321, 330. Cited. 24 CA 244-246. Cited. 28 CA 608-610. Cited. 29 CA 499, 500. Cited. Id., 573, 574. Cited. Id., 771. Cited. 30 CA 381, 382, 384, 385, 391, 392. Cited. 32 CA 431, 433, 434, 436. Cited. Id., 759-765. Cited. 33 CA 90, 92. Cited. 36 CA 364, 365, 381. Cited. 46 CA 545.

      Cited. 42 CS 426-429, 432, 437. Court allowed full participation of both state's attorney and state's advocate in transfer hearing. 43 CS 38, 40, 41. Cited. Id., 367-370.

      Former Subdiv. (1):

      Cited. 211 C. 289, 295-301, 307, 310, 313. Cited. 215 C. 277, 278. Cited. 218 C. 714, 715. Cited. 240 C. 727.

      Cited. 24 CA 244, 245.

      Former Subdiv. (2):

      Cited. 211 C. 289, 298.

      Subsec. (a):

      Statute does not create vested liberty interest in juvenile status and therefore procedural due process is not denied by transferring juvenile to criminal docket without notice, hearing or the assistance of counsel; nor does statute violate juvenile's rights to substantive due process and equal protection of the law or violate principle of separation of powers. 245 C. 93.

      Subsec. (d):

      Cited. 240 C. 727.