State of Arkansas v. Minor Child

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that the State may appeal a circuit court order transferring a juvenile criminal case to the juvenile division, overruling State v. A.G. The court concluded that Arkansas Constitution amendment 80 authorizes the General Assembly to provide additional rights of appeal and that the juvenile-transfer statute validly permits such an appeal. On the merits, the court held that the circuit court clearly erred in evaluating the violent nature of the alleged offense, vacated the transfer order, and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. The State may appeal a circuit court's juvenile-transfer order because article 80, section 11 of the Arkansas Constitution authorizes the General Assembly to provide additional rights of appeal, and the juvenile-transfer statute expressly provides that any party may appeal from a transfer order.
2. The juvenile-transfer statute is not unconstitutional merely because it establishes standards and mechanisms for deciding whether a juvenile should be tried as an adult; those matters constitute substantive policy choices for the General Assembly.
3. The circuit court clearly erred in granting the transfer motion because the record contained evidence that the charged offense involved a gunshot wound and therefore was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated, or willful manner.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State may appeal a circuit court order transferring a juvenile criminal case to the juvenile division.
2. Whether the circuit court clearly erred in granting Minor Child's motion to transfer the case to the juvenile division.
3. Whether the juvenile-transfer statute is unconstitutional because it allegedly intrudes on the Supreme Court's authority over court procedure and juvenile-court jurisdiction.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded