To lower the age at which a minor may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the District of Columbia to 14 years of age.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends the District of Columbia Official Code to lower the age at which certain minors can be tried as adults for specified criminal offenses. In the operative engrossed text, it changes references to age 16 to age 14 in section 16-2301's definition and related adult-treatment language. It also changes transfer-proceeding thresholds in section 16-2307(a) from ages 15 and 16 to age 14, expanding when prosecutors can seek adult handling for serious juvenile cases. The amendments are prospective only and apply to criminal offenses committed on or after enactment.
Who Benefits and How
D.C. prosecutors, adult criminal-court prosecutors, victims of serious juvenile offenses, public-safety advocates, and District of Columbia criminal courts benefit because more cases involving 14- and 15-year-old defendants can proceed in adult criminal jurisdiction or transfer processes rather than remaining in juvenile proceedings.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Fourteen-year-old defendants, fifteen-year-old defendants, juvenile defense attorneys, D.C. youth rehabilitation officials, families of charged minors, juvenile justice advocates, and D.C. Superior Court family-division staff bear burdens because covered minors are subject to adult criminal process, must litigate adult-jurisdiction or transfer issues, face increased risk of adult sentencing exposure, and lose some access to juvenile-court handling for covered offenses.
Key Provisions
- Amends D.C. Code section 16-2301 to replace certain age-16 references with age 14.
- Amends D.C. Code section 16-2307(a) to lower transfer-proceeding thresholds to age 14.
- Expands adult-criminal-jurisdiction exposure for minors charged with covered offenses in the District of Columbia.
- Requires prospective application only to criminal offenses committed on or after enactment.
- Increases litigation stakes for juvenile defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and D.C. courts.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Lowers D.C. Code age thresholds so minors as young as 14 may be treated as adults for specified criminal offenses and transfer proceedings, applying only to offenses committed on or after enactment.
Key Policy Areas
Criminal Justice, District of Columbia, Juvenile Justice
Primary Purpose
Lowers D.C. Code age thresholds so minors as young as 14 may be treated as adults for specified criminal offenses and transfer proceedings, applying only to offenses committed on or after enactment.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- D.C. prosecutors
- Adult criminal-court prosecutors
- Victims of serious juvenile offenses
- Public-safety advocates
- District of Columbia criminal courts
Identified Costs
- Fourteen-year-old defendants
- Fifteen-year-old defendants
- Juvenile defense attorneys
- D.C. youth rehabilitation officials
- Families of charged minors
- Juvenile justice advocates
- D.C. Superior Court family-division staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived in the Senate.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 225 - …
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas …
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4346)
POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. …
The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
DEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate …
Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4922, H.R. 5143, H.R. …
Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 707. (consideration: …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Fifteen-year-old defendants, Fourteen-year-old defendants, Victims of serious juvenile offenses
Positive-direction: Victims of serious juvenile offenses
Negative-direction: Fifteen-year-old defendants, Fourteen-year-old defendants
D.C. prosecutors, Juvenile defense attorneys
Positive-direction: D.C. prosecutors
Negative-direction: Juvenile defense attorneys
D.C. youth rehabilitation officials, District of Columbia criminal courts
On Passage
To lower the age at which a minor may be tried as an adult for certain criminal offenses in the Dis…
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "dc_code"
- → District of Columbia Official Code
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology