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5/29/2025
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Senate approves measure to ensure hearing for juvenile offenders facing transfer to adult courts
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STATE HOUSE – The Senate today approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Jacob E. Bissaillon to ensure juvenile offenders are not sent to adult courts without a hearing to determine whether that move is appropriate.
The legislation (2025-S 0908), which now goes to the House of Representatives, builds upon legislation enacted by the General Assembly in 2018 (2018-S 2458, 2018-H 7503) to eliminate the mandatory waiver out of Family Court for juvenile offenders accused of serious crimes. That change provided young offenders with the opportunity to have a certification hearing to determine whether their case should remain in Family Court, whose main purpose is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders by working with them and ensuring they receive the guidance they need.
However, a section of law that was not changed in the 2018 bill left in place a mandate that juveniles be sent to the adult court system if, after they turn 16, they commit two offenses that would make them subject to an indictment if they were an adult.
Senator Bissaillon’s bill eliminates that section so that those juveniles are entitled to a certification hearing like all others.
“Our state has Family Court because kids are not the same as adults. When they make terrible decisions, it’s better when we can steer them in the right direction though the appropriate rehabilitative programs so they can grow into responsible adults,” said Senator Bissaillon (D-Dist. 1, Providence). “The serious consequences of transferring a child to adult court necessitate that there should always be a hearing where the court has the discretion to determine whether it’s necessary.”
Just like the 2018 law, this legislation does not prohibit youthful offenders accused of serious crimes from being transferred from Family Court to the adult court system, if prosecutors seek that transfer and the court grants it. It only ensures that the transfer does not happen automatically for any juvenile offender, without a hearing to determine whether it is appropriate in the specific case.
Family Court Chief Judge Michael B. Forte, the Office of the Public Defender, Tides Family Services and the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island have given the bill their support.
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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