18 U.S.C. § 5032

Delinquency proceedings in district courts; transfer for criminal prosecution

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A juvenile alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency, other than a violation of law committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States for which the maximum authorized term of imprisonment does not exceed six months, shall not be proceeded against in any court of the United States unless the Attorney General, after investigation, certifies to the appropriate district court of the United States that (1) the juvenile court or other appropriate court of a State does not have jurisdiction or refuses to assume jurisdiction over said juvenile with respect to such alleged act of juvenile delinquency, (2) the State does not have available programs and services adequate for the needs of juveniles, or (3) the offense charged is a crime of violence that is a felony or an offense described in section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841), or section 1002(a), 1003, 1005, 1009, or 1010(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952(a), 953, 955, 959, 960(b)(1), (2), (3)), section 922(x) or section 924(b), (g), or (h) of this title, and that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case or the offense to warrant the exercise of Federal jurisdiction.

If the Attorney General does not so certify, such juvenile shall be surrendered to the appropriate legal authorities of such State. For purposes of this section, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.

If an alleged juvenile delinquent is not surrendered to the authorities of a State pursuant to this section, any proceedings against him shall be in an appropriate district court of the United States. For such purposes, the court may be convened at any time and place within the district, in chambers or otherwise. The Attorney General shall proceed by information or as authorized under section 3401(g) of this title, and no criminal prosecution shall be instituted for the alleged act of juvenile delinquency except as provided below.

A juvenile who is alleged to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency and who is not surrendered to State authorities shall be proceeded against under this chapter unless he has requested in writing upon advice of counsel to be proceeded against as an adult, except that, with respect to a juvenile fifteen years and older alleged to have committed an act after his fifteenth birthday which if committed by an adult would be a felony that is a crime of violence or an offense described in section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841), or section 1002(a), 1005, or 1009 of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952(a), 955, 959), or section 922(x) of this title, or in section 924(b), (g), or (h) of this title, criminal prosecution on the basis of the alleged act may be begun by motion to transfer of the Attorney General in the appropriate district court of the United States, if such court finds, after hearing, such transfer would be in the interest of justice. In the application of the preceding sentence, if the crime of violence is an offense under section 113(a), 113(b), 113(c), 1111, 1113, or, if the juvenile possessed a firearm during the offense, section 2111, 2113, 2241(a), or 2241(c), “thirteen” shall be substituted for “fifteen” and “thirteenth” shall be substituted for “fifteenth”. Notwithstanding sections 1152 and 1153, no person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government shall be subject to the preceding sentence for any offense the Federal jurisdiction for which is predicated solely on Indian country (as defined in section 1151), and which has occurred within the boundaries of such Indian country, unless the governing body of the tribe has elected that the preceding sentence have effect over land and persons subject to its criminal jurisdiction. However, a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an act after his sixteenth birthday which if committed by an adult would be a felony offense that has as an element thereof the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, or that, by its very nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person of another may be used in committing the offense, or would be an offense described in section 32, 81, 844(d), (e), (f), (h), (i) or 2275 of this title, subsection (b)(1)(A), (B), or (C), (d), or (e) of section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act, or section 1002(a), 1003, 1009, or 1010(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952(a), 953, 959, 960(b)(1), (2), (3)), and who has previously been found guilty of an act which if committed by an adult would have been one of the offenses set forth in this paragraph or an offense in violation of a State felony statute that would have been such an offense if a circumstance giving rise to Federal jurisdiction had existed, shall be transferred to the appropriate district court of the United States for criminal prosecution.

Evidence of the following factors shall be considered, and findings with regard to each factor shall be made in the record, in assessing whether a transfer would be in the interest of justice: the age and social background of the juvenile; the nature of the alleged offense; the extent and nature of the juvenile’s prior delinquency record; the juvenile’s present intellectual development and psychological maturity; the nature of past treatment efforts and the juvenile’s response to such efforts; the availability of programs designed to treat the juvenile’s behavioral problems. In considering the nature of the offense, as required by this paragraph, the court shall consider the extent to which the juvenile played a leadership role in an organization, or otherwise influenced other persons to take part in criminal activities, involving the use or distribution of controlled substances or firearms. Such a factor, if found to exist, shall weigh in favor of a transfer to adult status, but the absence of this factor shall not preclude such a transfer.

Reasonable notice of the transfer hearing shall be given to the juvenile, his parents, guardian, or custodian and to his counsel. The juvenile shall be assisted by counsel during the transfer hearing, and at every other critical stage of the proceedings.

Once a juvenile has entered a plea of guilty or the proceeding has reached the stage that evidence has begun to be taken with respect to a crime or an alleged act of juvenile delinquency subsequent criminal prosecution or juvenile proceedings based upon such alleged act of delinquency shall be barred.

Statements made by a juvenile prior to or during a transfer hearing under this section shall not be admissible at subsequent criminal prosecutions.

Whenever a juvenile transferred to district court under this section is not convicted of the crime upon which the transfer was based or another crime which would have warranted transfer had the juvenile been initially charged with that crime, further proceedings concerning the juvenile shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

A juvenile shall not be transferred to adult prosecution nor shall a hearing be held under section 5037 (disposition after a finding of juvenile delinquency) until any prior juvenile court records of such juvenile have been received by the court, or the clerk of the juvenile court has certified in writing that the juvenile has no prior record, or that the juvenile’s record is unavailable and why it is unavailable.

Whenever a juvenile is adjudged delinquent pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the specific acts which the juvenile has been found to have committed shall be described as part of the official record of the proceedings and part of the juvenile’s official record.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 505 cases (19 in the last 5 years), 1952–2025 · leading case: United States v. Brian N. (A Juv. Male), United States of Am. v. Craig J.B. (A Juv. Male), 900 F.2d 218 (10th Cir. 1990).

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United States v. Brian N. (A Juv. Male), United States of Am. v. Craig J.B. (A Juv. Male), 900 F.2d 218 (10th Cir. 1990). · cites it 14× “The defendants were arraigned, and the government proceeded against them as juveniles pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032 (1988). On December 11, 1987, the government filed a motion to transfer proceedings from juvenile court to the federal district court.”

United States v. Male Juv. (Pierre Y.), 280 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2002). · cites it 10× “The jurisdictional certification statement required by 18 U.S.C. § 5032 (the Juvenile Delinquency Act) to establish federal jurisdiction stated that: (1) the state of Montana did not have jurisdiction over the offenses and (2) the offenses involved a crime of violence and there…”

United States v. Juv. Male, 595 F.3d 885 (9th Cir. 2010). · cites it 20× “On January 8, defense counsel filed motions to dismiss the information for failure to provide a proper juvenile certification under 18 U.S.C. § 5032 ; to suppress R.P.'s statements as the fruit of the government's failure to comply with 18 U.”

United States v. John Doe, 871 F.2d 1248 (5th Cir. 1989). · cites it 11× “Doe now appeals the order of the district court issued under 18 U.S.C. § 5032 authorizing his transfer to prosecution as an adult rather than as a juvenile for the armed robbery.”

United States v. Timothy Allen Wenner, 351 F.3d 969 (9th Cir. 2003). · cites it 5× “determined that Washington residential burglary is a crime of violence only for the purpose of transferring a juvenile to adult prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 5032 . Id. at 1257 . Unlike the Sentencing Guidelines, however, § 5032 does not separately and specifically list…”

United States v. Derrick Jarrett, Lawrence McCarroll Jeffrey Brock, Jamie J. Key, Dwight Anderson, Samir Hameen, & Judy McCarroll, 133 F.3d 519 (7th Cir. 1998). · cites it 9× “He turned eighteen in May 1995, and, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032 , the Government moved to transfer him to adult status on August 4, 1995.”

United States v. D. D. B., 903 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2018). · cites it 7× “The statute governing such a transfer, 18 U.S.C. § 5032 , mandates a transfer to adult proceedings if all three of the following conditions are met: (1) the juvenile com- mitted the act underlying the charged offense after his six- teenth birthday; (2) the charged offense is a…”

United States v. Female Juv., A.F.S., 377 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2004). · cites it 11× “with juvenile delinquency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 5032 , arising from her alleged importation of heroin and possession with intent to distribute.”

United States v. Joseph Simms, 914 F.3d 229 (4th Cir. 2019). · cites it 2× “§ 3663A(c)(1)(A)(i) (mandating restitution to victims of certain “crime[s] of violence,” citing § 16); 18 U.S.C. § 5032 (permitting federal trials of juveniles in certain cases where “the offense charged is a crime of violence that is a felony”).”

Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815 (1988). · cites it 4× “18 U. S. C. § 5032 (1982 ed., Supp. IV). This legislation was passed in light of Justice Department testimony that many juvenile delinquents were "cynical, street-wise, repeat offenders, indistinguishable, except for their age, from their adult criminal counterparts," Hearings…”

United States v. David H., Juv., 29 F.3d 489 (9th Cir. 1994). · cites it 10× “The plain language of § 5032 indicates the court is not to reexamine the facts underlying the prior conviction.”

United States v. Rene E., 583 F.3d 8 (1st Cir. 2009). · cites it 4× “§ 922 (x)(2)(A) and 18 U.S.C. § 5032 , the charging provision of the Juvenile Delinquency Act.”

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