In 1997, in an effort to ease overcrowding in juvenile detention centers, the Louisiana Legislature enacted a law allowing the Department of Public Safety and Corrections [the Department] to transfer juveniles that had been adjudicated delinquent (not convicted of a crime) to adult facilities upon reaching the age of seventeen. LSA-RS 15:901.1 (effective July 14, 1997). Once transferred, the juveniles would be treated the same as the adult convicted felons and required to perform hard labor.

On September 3, 1997, five juveniles filed a "Motion to Stay Transfers to "Adult Prisons" and an "Application for Preliminary Injunctive Relief" in the Juvenile Court for East Baton Rouge Parish. The juveniles contended that the law in question violated both the state and federal constitutions.

The Juvenile Court found that the law violated due process as guaranteed by the state constitution and issued a permanent injunction enjoining the Department from effectuating further transfers of juveniles in that parish. The Department requested a stay of the order pending appeal, which was denied. The juveniles requested that the injunction be expanded state wide to stay all juvenile transfers. That request was also denied. The Department appealed directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

On appeal the, Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed. It held that LSA-RS 15:902.1 as applied by Regulation B- 02-008 was unconstitutional as it violated the due process clause of our state constitution. The Supreme Court noted that the Juvenile Court did not differentiate whether it found the law to be unconstitutional on its face or as applied by the regulation. The decision left open the possibility that the Department could attempt to issue a different transfer regulation. In re C.B., 708 So.2d 391 (La. 1998).

We have no further information on this matter.

Dan Dalton - 02/21/2007


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