IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
OF THE STATE OF
KYLE JOSEPH YERMAN
Petitioner,
v. Appeal No. CRC 06-79 APANO
UCN52006AP00079XXXXCR
STATE OF
Respondent.
_____________________________/
Opinion filed ________________.
Petition for writ of prohibition
seeking review of a decision
of the
County Judge Edwin Jagger
Dwight Wolfe, Esq.
Assistant Public Defender
Christopher Ballard, Esq.
Assistant State Attorney
ORDER AND OPINION
THIS
MATTER is before the Court on the petitioner, Kyle Yerman’s,
Petition for a Writ of Prohibition seeking review of a decision of the
The petitioner was charged with committing several misdemeanor crimes when he was a juvenile. However, during the prosecution of his case, when the petitioner had turned 18, he -- along with his counsel -- signed and filed a Demand for Voluntary Waiver of Jurisdiction; asking to be treated as an adult. The Demand was granted, and the prosecution of the misdemeanors proceeded in the Pinellas County Court. A trial was held on the charges, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Well over a year after the petitioner’s demand to be treated as an adult was granted, he obtained new counsel and then argued that the Pinellas County Court lacked jurisdiction to try his case. He claimed that because his Demand was not signed by his parent, guardian, or a guardian ad litem, then the Demand that he and his attorney signed was invalid. In support of his motion to dismiss, he cited §985.226(1), Fla. Stat. (2004). That statute states:
The court shall transfer and certify a child’s criminal case
for trial as an adult if the child is alleged to have committed
a violation of the law and, prior to the commencement of
an adjudicatory hearing, the child joined by a parent, or in
the absence of a parent, by the guardian or guardian ad litem,
demands in writing to be tried as an adult. … .
The trial court denied the petitioner’s motion to dismiss, and the petitioner is seeking review of that decision. This Court agrees with the trial court.
The purpose of the statute is to ensure that a child charged with a crime does not involuntarily or unwisely waive the jurisdiction and protection of the juvenile statutes and elect to be treated as an adult defendant. Thus, the statute requires the written consent of a parent or guardian. When during the proceedings an individual turns 18 and becomes an adult, the statute is simply not applicable. At that point the individual is no longer a child and is free to make his or her own choice --- with or without a parent’s or guardian’s agreement. The trial court was correct to find the statute inapplicable under these circumstances.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Petition for Writ of Prohibition is denied.
DONE
AND ORDERED in Chambers at
____________________________
David A. Demers
Circuit Judge
____________________________
Raymond O. Gross
Circuit Judge
cc: State Attorney
Public Defender
Judge Jagger