Prosecutors hold a significant role in the direct filing of juvenile defendants, wielding prosecutorial discretion to determine whether a young offender should be tried as an adult. This discretion involves considering various factors, including the seriousness of the crime and the offender's age, criminal history, and potential for rehabilitation. It plays a pivotal role in shaping the fate of juvenile defendants by influencing whether they will face adult penalties within the justice system.
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Read what Joni Poitier, a former Jacksonville prosecutor, has to say about direct filing. Click to each question to read the response.
I am a partner at the law firm of Moseley Prichard Parrish Nathan Jones. I went to College in Atlanta, GA at Spellman college, which is an all female college, and then after graduating from college I attended Vanderbilt University for law school. I graduated from law school in 2005 once I left, I started working at the state attorney's office as an assistant state attorney in the 4th judicial circuit in Jacksonville, FL and I worked in the state attorney's office for 6 1/2 years; only misdemeanor offenses for nine months and felony offenses for a year, and then for the rest of my time at the state attorneys office, I was assigned to the sexual assault division, which prosecutes cases um involving sexual battery, child molestation, sexual assault, any sort of aggravated battery, and any sort of crime against minors including child abuse child neglect, unlawful sexual activity, those kind of crimes. During that time period I also handled juvenile cases of a sexual nature; so those kind of sexual assaults mission cases that involve juveniles as the suspect.
Those cases were always difficult, just like any case, especially with the type of cases that I handled that fell I mean those previews. So, unfortunately they were often teenagers or preteens who were causing injury to another child of a sexual nature, so those are very difficult because of the type of case that they are and then because there's there's juveniles involved; whether it is some form of should ensure sexual activities so to 12 year olds who are engaging in behavior, but under the law they can't consent to that kind of behavior, so those are difficult, as well as any type of injury to a minor child. So whether or not it's an older child hurting a minor child, whether it's physically or sexually, it's difficult cases to handle and especially understanding children at that age aren't complete with their development, so whether that's mentally or physically, that's something that you have to take into account when you're considering the cases and and how you want to resolve the cases yeah so there's several different considerations to make.
The great thing about working in the division that I worked in, the 4th judicial circuit, we had great supervisors, so my main supervisor was Alan Mizrahi and he had been prosecuting these cases for 20 plus years. There was always a conversation with him on whether or not you want to direct file a case depending on the significance of the crime, the injury that was imposed on the child, the age of the child, and then a lot of times it's for juvenile court. You know, the court only has jurisdiction over this child for a limited period of time so in many cases where you want more jurisdiction maybe not necessarily more time in prison, but you want more time on probation so that there is the Department of Corrections watching over this child to make sure that the child who's now become an adult is still you know doing what they need to do still getting treatment that they might need still being an asset to the community and not being you know detriment to the community. It's important to have that jurisdiction so a lot of times in that evaluation it's not necessarily you know a case where we want to direct file a child because we want more prison time or incarceration time it's because we want more time for the court to be able to watch over this child was now becoming an adult to make sure they're contributing to society.
No, I think the courts do consider acts. The courts, the judges, the prosecutors, you know we have life experiences we go to account we go to conferences to educate us um you know we consult with the prosecutors who are handling juvenile cases and I would imagine that the judges do the same they consult with the judges who previously handled juveniles and you can't make a generalized statement like that because the judge who you're in front of could have been um you know a juvenile an attorney who handled juvenile cases themselves. I think when people make those kind of generalized statements, that's not fair and I think especially here in the 4th judicial circuit here in Jacksonville, and I'm sure it's the same in Miami-Dade county and most counties throughout Florida, the judges make an effort to educate themselves if they don't have the experience as to angling juvenile matters and the juvenile brain and and I know they have conferences that judges and prosecutors attend where we're provided with seminars and lectures, the foremost authority on dealing with that our state attorney’s office here actually did a community event. It was maybe five or six years ago where they had a therapist who's talked about the development of the brain and juvenile development and how a juvenile brain isn't developed until, I think it's 19 and you know other different perspectives, so I would wholly disagree with that comment. That's not just because I was a former prosecutor, but because I know the training you know the experience that's done both by judges on the bench as well as assistant state attorneys. You know not every case requires the same response there's an analysis that needs to be done and part of that is you know and if there is you know someone needs to be applied to the therapist needs mental health needs those kind of things it's something that that's done because especially with those kind of cases and juveniles they're going to be part of our community for a significant amount of time so you know if if we can do what we need to to make sure they get their treatment with therapy that they need so that they don't continue to be but they become you know part active participants in the community and our additions to the community and not out here committing crimes reaching havoc which is what we don't want right because you know like I said they're cheaper miles people are they're gonna be here for a long time so they're the future of our community so unfortunately not everyone has the same access to therapy and you know two parent household loving and caring so I know that's definitely part of the analysis and and the prosecutors that I know and was were the type that that do the work that's needed and provide what's needed for the person and the court and the court in the juvenile judges take that into consideration and I know especially when you're direct filing those judges, I would imagine, seek counsel from juvenile judges and look at those reports and many of the cases that I’ve worked on, there's been a direct file the defense attorney does do their due diligence and provides the court with reports from experts. I know every judge that I've been in front of is going to consider it, that they're not just going to throw it to the side they're going to read it and consider the information. So I would disagree with that statement.
I think the prosecutor has access to things that the court would be not OK. See now there's rules of evidence that allow for the admissibility of certain evidence certain testimony whether it's relevant or not in the courts and in the in the rules of evidence however you know as a prosecutor you have access to everything you have the ability to talk to victims you have the ability to look back at someone’s prior history talk to those victims see what happened talk to the parents talk to DCF look at the DCF you know the child's history with the Department of Children and Family Services the child's history and the system the child's history in the school department you know and so I think those are all important considerations when making the determination about whether or not to direct while speaking to the parents the family members the teachers all of those people all of those things you know come into consideration and I don't think the court would be able to look at all that evidence yeah you know we already know the courts are already like overburdened and overworked at this point I think every circuit needs more judges and I think like I said the prosecutors have more access to that information and I know here we also consult with the defense attorney and allow you know the defense attorney to provide whether performation they might think row that including you know the therapist the child had therapy and and there's notes and all of those things which might not be admissible in the court level so I think you know and and it all stems from the state attorney yeah here our state attorneys most analysts and and like I said when she ran one of the things that she ran on was you know making that careful determination as to what cases should be directed filed. So I think it's not just an analysis done, I suppose here, by the state attorney. I'm pretty sure what they do here is when they're making their direct decision, it's not just one parking person making that decision you know there's a committee and even if other circuits don't have this same committee it's not necessarily one person usually there's a supervisor. You know, we roundtable our cases here which means we've talked to several different prosecutors who have different life experiences to get their thoughts on what they think should happen um and like I said one of the biggest considerations not it's not necessarily on punishment yeah it is on some cases you if you have a 17 year old out here killing people yeah and the court only has jurisdiction for a year that's not that's not appropriate that's not an appropriate sentence in any case I don't think so you know if you have someone taking someone's life so that needs to be direct filed so each case is individual I know here we make a they made a very concerted effort to do what they thought was right in terms of direct filing and in those cases it's not just about necessarily the amount of time someone should spend in custody it's more about having the court have jurisdiction over this person so you know if they're on probation for 10 years you know it might need to change over time so you know making sure the child goes to school if they're not in a facility making sure they're applying for a job or going to school you know joint community service those kind of things that are needed rather than being out on the street and exposed to you know the wrong element that could push them towards committing more you know criminal behavior.
Given that it may lessen in the juvenile court or jurisdiction, which you know defeats the purpose of juvenile court, the only way I think would be would be allow that juvenile court to have jurisdiction over someone until they're 30 if they commit the crime when they're a child giving them longer jurisdiction OK that's what that's what I think would be and it legally I don't know how you would I'd have to do some research on on the legal Olympics on that but that would be the way it would be to give juvenile court more just jurisdiction over someone if they commit the crime as a juvenile give them jurisdiction over them you know indefinitely so even into their adult life if they happen to commit a child as crime as juvenile so that that would be it and and I think they could do some we go on big stick to get the law changed in regards to thatI I could see that as a possibility because I think our juvenile judges are Circuit Court judges so they are judges who can handle adult cases you know the Circuit Court has jurisdiction over juveniles so it's not like say a 30 year old who committed a crime when they were 12 if they go to juvenile court the judge is not familiar with handling an adult so I I think I think that's possible and I think our juvenile judges are Circuit Court judges so they are judges who can handle adult cases you know the Circuit Court has jurisdiction over juveniles um so it's not like say a 30 year old who committed a crime when they were 12 if they go to juvenile court the judge is not familiar with handling an adult so I I think I think that's possible and that that would be I would see the only way around not track filing OK well that's it that's all I got OK thank you so much for talking to me of course anytime I'm gonna send you this and then I'll just send you I'm sure you probably know about Christian Fernandez yeah but he I think is a great case analysis because that that case I think quite a lot of light to the juvenile direct file system umm because he was he was difficult and I know is Steve attorney here then Angela Corey got a lot of Flack about direct filing the 12 year old because I think he's probably the youngest to be direct filed in the state of Florida but it was not so for him because I think I'm pretty sure he's got a custody now he is I searched it up he was in custody until 2018 he was in custody until he was 19 years old correct yeah and then he was directed by like I said yeah and you know that time outside he faced a life sentence yeah yeah and and I think more so yeah he served eight years of probation after and you know the conditions were hard for him to stay away from his siblings and so they seek to me with him those kind of things yeah you know and and if he would have stayed in juvenile court the court would not have jurisdiction to to keep those kind of things you know on him in terms of yeah requiring that siblings want to see him versus him trying to see that and and those kind of things and requiring that he get mental health treatment yeah which I think is great you know after his release he needs that and if he didn't seek that on his own which a lot of people don't necessarily do it because they don't have the finances or the knowledge so sometimes the court has to be there to ensure that that happens so that he can attempt to be a productive citizen.