SB9 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Dick Brewbaker

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Juvenile court, jurisdiction, provision requiring 16 year olds charged with certain felonies charged as adults repealed, Sec.12-15-204 am'd.

Summary

SB9 would repeal automatic adult handling for 16-year-olds charged with certain offenses, returning initial juvenile court jurisdiction to those cases and preserving pre-repeal convictions.

What This Bill Does

The bill removes the rule that 16-year-olds (and older) charged with listed serious offenses must be charged and tried as adults. As a result, a 16-year-old charged with these offenses would start in the juvenile court rather than the adult system. It also keeps existing rules about continued jurisdiction for individuals convicted before the repeal and adds transitional provisions related to when the act takes effect and which cases it applies to.

Who It Affects

• 16-year-olds and older individuals charged with listed serious offenses (such as capital offenses, Class A felonies, felonies involving deadly weapons, death or serious injury, offenses involving dangerous instruments against certain officials, drug trafficking, and related lesser offenses) who would now start in juvenile court.
• The criminal justice system and defendants convicted before the repeal (continuing jurisdiction remains for those cases), along with cases governed by transitional rules about when the act applies and when it takes effect.

Key Provisions

• Repeals the provision requiring 16-year-olds and older charged with certain offenses to be charged, arrested, and tried as adults; these youths would be charged and tried in juvenile court at the outset.
• Enumerated offenses covered: (1) capital offense, (2) Class A felony, (3) a felony with the element of a deadly weapon, (4) a felony causing death or serious physical injury, (5) a felony with use of a dangerous instrument against specified officials (e.g., law enforcement, corrections, teachers, judges, prosecutors, jurors, witnesses, etc.), (6) trafficking in drugs, (7) any lesser included offense of the above, with juvenile court maintaining original jurisdiction over certain lesser included offenses if indicting conditions aren’t met or charges are dismissed.
• Section 12-15-204(b) preserves continued jurisdiction rules for individuals convicted or adjudicated as youthful offenders under the old law, limiting juvenile court jurisdiction for future offenses and allowing enforcement of prior orders (fines, restitution, etc.).
• Section 12-15-204(c) and related sections establish transitional rules about applicability based on when conduct occurred and specify that the act applies to cases where alleged conduct happened after the act’s effective date, with older conduct governed by pre-existing law; conduct before 1994 is governed by older law.
• Effective date: the act would take effect on the first day of the third month after the governor signs, and would apply to cases after that date.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Criminal Law and Procedure