Youth charging reform bill clears key hurdle in Maryland Senate

A bill that would reduce the number of charges for which teenagers are automatically charged as adults passed out of the Maryland Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee on Friday, a sign the legislation has found purchase after more than a decade of advocacy by criminal justice reformers.

The 10-1 vote in the powerful committee signals the legislation has backing in the state Senate. Passing out of committee means the bill heads to the Senate floor, an indication legislative leaders believe it has enough support to pass.

The bill is a compromise that would not end automatic charging entirely. Instead, it would shorten the list of charges that automatically land teenagers in adult court and would put teens in front of a judge sooner.

The most serious charges, including murder, rape and armed robbery, would still result in adult charges for 16- and 17-year-olds under the bill. Murder and rape charges against 14- and 15-year-olds would also begin in adult court.

Assault and several firearm possession charges would no longer automatically result in adult charges, but a judge would decide where the case belongs sooner. Prosecutors would be present and could argue a case belongs in adult court.

“The bill before you is the result of a lot of hard work,” Judicial Proceedings Committee Chair Will Smith told senators. Automatically charging teenagers as adults, the Montgomery County Democrat said, “wastes a lot of money and time getting worse results.”

The practice of “auto-charging” has been a top issue for reform advocates for more than a decade. Maryland charges more children as adults per capita than any state other than Alabama, Smith has said, and more than 80% of children charged as adults are Black, even though less than a third of the state’s youth population is Black.

It is also expensive to house teenagers in adult detention facilities, where they must be held separately from adults. In most cases, teens who are charged as adults have their cases returned to juvenile court or dropped, according to data shared with lawmakers.

State’s attorneys opposed the legislation, arguing Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services is not equipped to deal with an influx of teenagers in need of services.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates has suggested holding off on passing the bill for a few years so DJS has time to ensure its programming can keep up.

“There is no rush,” he told a legislative committee previously. “Let’s take the time, fix the system and give our children what they really need.”

But Maryland’s new DJS secretary, Betsy Fox Tolentino, backed the bill and told lawmakers her department is already working with this population, because many of the teens with adult charges end up back in juvenile court.

“We have a system that prioritizes punishment over timely accountability,” Tolentino told the Judicial Proceedings Committee this month.

Tolentino had been acting secretary of DJS since June, when Gov. Wes Moore’s first pick to lead the agency, Vincent Schiraldi, resigned. Schiraldi’s relationship with lawmakers was strained, while Tolentino is seen as more responsive to the legislature’s concerns.

The Maryland Senate confirmed Tolentino on Friday. Her support for the auto-charging bill was key for lawmakers who see juvenile justice as a politically sensitive issue and whose concerns have held up youth charging reform for years.

Judicial Proceedings Committee Vice Chair Jeff Waldstreicher said the leadership change was a key reason he voted yes on the bill.

“I think it’s fair to say there was a lack of trust between the previous secretary and this committee,” he said. “The new secretary has changed the culture of the department, has changed the policies of the department and is committed not to an ideological vision but to a vision of safety and rehabilitation.”

The vote is a mixed victory for criminal justice reform advocates, who wanted to see more offenses removed from the automatic charging list, and eventually, an end to automatic charging altogether.

Heather Warnken, executive director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said the bill was already a compromise even before Friday’s amendments were added.

“Some of the amendments that just passed are extremely disappointing and undercut the spirit of the bill,” she said. But removing some offenses from the automatic charging list, especially handgun possession charges, would still make a big difference for many young people currently being funneled into the adult system, she said.

The committee vote was bipartisan, with Republican Sens. Mike McKay and Chris West voting in favor. Sen. Bill Folden, a Republican from Frederick, voted against the bill.

The bill that passed out of committee incorporated another piece of legislation that prohibits youths charged as adults from being housed in adult jails, though it would not take effect for three years. It would also require DJS to detain, at least temporarily, young people charged with gun offenses and violent crimes, rather than immediately releasing them.