JUVENILES

The Juvenile Justice Act was designed to encompass any and all situations in which children break the law, and was not intended to permit certain juveniles to commit misdemeanor assaults without subjecting them to answer for their behavior through some form of adjudicatory proceeding. A.S.G. v. Fa’apito, 1 A.S.R.3d 199 (1997).

A.S.C.A. Sec. 45.0115(c)(2) does not prevent the Attorney General from charging certain children with misdemeanors as well as felonies, under certain circumstances, including when the child's conduct is a crime of violence. A.S.G. v. Fa’apito, 1 A.S.R.3d 199 (1997).

While there are a number of other provisions in the Juvenile Justice Act that talk about dealing with children as adults only in the context of felony charges, the Act expressly contemplates prosecution of children for felonies and misdemeanors. A.S.G. v. Fa’apito, 1 A.S.R.3d 199 (1997).

Where the government prosecutes a child as an adult for a crime of violence the child is not a "juvenile" within the meaning of the Juvenile Justice Act and the High Court cannot assert jurisdiction over the matter under A.S.C.A. Sec. 3.0208(a)(4). Furthermore, the High Court does not have jurisdiction over this case under A.S.C.A. Sec. 45.0115(a)(1), which grants the trial division of the High Court exclusive jurisdiction over cases concerning "any delinquent child, as defined in subsections (2) and (9) of 45.0103”, because a child charged with a crime of violence is excluded from the definition of "delinquent child" under A.S.C.A. ' 45.0103(9)(B)(I). A.S.G. v. Fa’apito, 1 A.S.R.3d 199 (1997).