As reported by the Kansas City Star and Juvienation, the Kansas Supreme Court decided 6-1 that all juveniles have the right to a jury trial. Previously, it had been the practice in Kansas to have juvenile cases decided by a judge as opposed to a jury because “the benevolent, child-cognizant, rehabilitative, and parens patriae character distinguished it [the Kansas juvenile justice code] from the adult criminal system.” However, the majority believed that these values were no longer the main focus of the juvenile justice code. The Court argued:

1. Changes to the Kansas Juvenile Justice Code since 1984 have eroded the benevolent, child-cognizant, rehabilitative, and parens patriae character that distinguished it from the adult criminal system. Because the Kansas Juvenile Justice Code has become more akin to an adult criminal prosecution, it is held that juveniles henceforth have a constitutional right to a jury trial under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

2. The proceedings under the KJJC fit within the meaning of the phrase “all prosecutions” as set forth in §10 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, and juveniles have a right to a jury trial under the Kansas Constitution.

3. The right to a jury trial in juvenile offender proceedings is a new rule of procedure, it does not operate retroactively. This right will apply only to cases pending on direct review or not yet final on the date of filing of this opinion.

Please click here to see the full Court’s decision.

Source: In the Matter of L.M., Appeal No. 96,197 (June 20, 2008)

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