Maryland

Lower Age:

7

Upper Age:

17

Discretionary Waiver

Code of Md., Sec. 3-817 Maryland Rule 913

The juvenile court may waive its exclusive jurisdiction over a child who meets specified age/offense criteria if it finds, after ordering an investigation and holding a hearing, that the child is not a fit subject for juvenile rehabilitative measures. The law lists various factors to be considered in making the waiver determination. For purposes of waiver the court must assume that the child actually committed the offenses in the petition. An order waiving jurisdiction is not immediately appealable.

When a child over whom juvenile jurisdiction has previously been waived comes before the juvenile court on a new offense, the court may waive its jurisdiction following a summary review, without a hearing. (Also, as noted in Reverse Waiver, once a child has been (1) convicted of an excluded offense or (2) adjudicated delinquent following a reverse waiver, he can never get a transfer from adult to juvenile court again.)

Offense Category

Minimum Age

Offense Detail

Any Criminal

15

Capital

None specified

Act punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Statutory Exclusion

Code of Md., Sec. 3-804

The juvenile court "does not have jurisdiction over" various age/offense categories, unless the adult criminal court waives its jurisdiction and transfers the case to the juvenile court. (See Reverse Waiver.) If a child meets age/offense criteria for exclusion, all other charges against the child arising out of the same incident are also heard in adult criminal court.

Offense Category

Minimum Age

Offense Detail

Capital

14

Crime punishable by death or life imprisonment.

Murder

16

Second degree murder or the attempt, manslaughter.

Person

16

Abduction, kidnapping, first degree assault, armed robbery or the attempt, second degree rape, second and third degree sexual offenses in violation of specified statutes, attempted rape, attempted second degree sexual assault, carjacking and armed carjacking.

Weapon

16

Certain firearms violations, including wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun on the person or in a vehicle without a permit; possessing or using a machine gun for aggressive purposes or in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a crime of violence; violating restrictions on the transfer, sale, or possession of regulated firearms; knowingly possessing, selling, or transferring a stolen regulated firearm; possessing a short-barreled rifle or shotgun; and using, wearing, carrying, or transporting firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Reverse Waiver

Code of 1957, Art. 27, Sec. 594A

Generally, a court with criminal jurisdiction over a case excluded by statute from juvenile jurisdiction may waive it and transfer the child to juvenile court if such a transfer is "in the interests of the child or society." However, the court may not transfer a case of any child who (1) has previously been convicted of an excluded offense; (2) has previously been waived/transferred to juvenile court and adjudicated delinquent; or (3) is accused of first degree murder and was at least 16 at the time of commission. The law specifies various factors that must be considered in making a reverse waiver determination.

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