HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2019.03.14 - 31003MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #19051
BY: Commissioners Helaine Zack, District #18; Marcia Gershenson, District #13; Gwen Markham, District
#9; Penny Luebs, District #16; Janet Jackson, District #21; Kristen Nelson, District #5;
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO "RAISE THE AGE" FOR
JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN MICHIGAN
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS Michigan remains one of four states in the U.S. that automatically prosecutes 17-year-olds as
adults, regardless of the severity of the crime, which is unaligned with national best practices, recent U.S.
Supreme Court decisions, and Michigan's other governing laws that define "youth" as any individual
under the age of 18; and
WHEREAS the majority of 17-year-olds entering the criminal justice system are arrested for nonviolent,
misdemeanor offenses, many of whom would be eligible for diversion in the juvenile justice system; and
WHEREAS national research on adolescent brain development shows that teens are more inclined to
take risks, act impulsively, and succumb to peer pressure, which may lead to delinquent behavior, yet are
very responsive to rehabilitative programs and behavior modification during these formative years; and
WHEREAS research from the Justice Policy Institute (2017) on states that raised the age of juvenile
jurisdiction to 18 shows that the projected costs were consistently overstated, and those states have
instead contained costs, reallocated costs to approaches that keep young people in the community, have
reduced confinement, and improved community safety; and
WHEREAS according to the Center for Disease Control, prosecuting youths as adults increases
recidivism, and states that have transferred their 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system have
experienced improvements in public safety (Justice Policy Institute, 2017); and
WHEREAS when adolescents are tried as adults, their conviction data is public and thus accessible to
employers and other professionals resulting in lifelong consequences, including significant barriers to
accessing housing, employment, and higher education, and these obstacles lead to a lifetime of poor
physical and mental health outcomes; and
WHEREAS the juvenile justice system prioritizes developmentally appropriate community-based
programs and diversion services that are not accessible to 17-year-olds in the adult system, and are
designed to rehabilitate, and encourage family involvement in treatment.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby
declares its support of Senate Bills 84, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101 and 102 and calls
upon the Michigan Legislature to pass the "Raise the Age" package to align Michigan's procedures with
standard national practices and raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners urges the Legislature to monitor and
adopt an appropriate funding mechanism through the Department of Health and Human Services to cover
the additional costs associated with increasing the age of the juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to forward
copies of this adopted resolution to the Governor of the State of Michigan, the Oakland County members
of the Michigan congressional delegation, the Oakland County members of the Michigan House of
Representatives, the Oakland County members of the Michigan Senate and the members of the Michigan
Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing resolution.
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Commissioner
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CommissiOner Penny Luebs
District #1
Commissioner Gwen Markham
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Commissioner Commissioner
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Commissioner Commissioner
District # District #
Commissioner Commissioner
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Commissioner Commissioner
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Commissioner Commissioner
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Commissioner Commissioner
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Commissioner Commissioner
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Resolution #19051 March 14, 2019
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the Legislative Affairs and Government Operations Committee.
There were no objections.