In Re TW

652 F. Supp. 1440
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedFebruary 6, 1987
Docket86-CR-105
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 652 F. Supp. 1440 (In Re TW) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re TW, 652 F. Supp. 1440 (E.D. Wis. 1987).

Opinion

652 F.Supp. 1440 (1987)

In re T.W., A juvenile and an Indian,
and
R.T., a juvenile and an Indian.

No. 86-CR-105.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

February 6, 1987.

*1441 Ann Kisting, Asst. U.S. Atty., Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff.

Elizabeth Adelman, Milwaukee, Wis., for T.W.

Thomas Brown, Milwaukee, Wis., for R.T.

DECISION AND ORDER

WARREN, District Judge.

The United States commenced this action on September 26, 1986, with a one-count Information charging the juveniles, T.W. and R.T., as follows:

That on or about September 15, 1986, at or around the City of Neopit, in the State and Eastern District of Wisconsin and within Indian country,
T.W., an Indian and a juvenile,
and
R.T., an Indian and a juvenile,
committed a violation of law whereby they became juvenile delinquents, in that they knowingly, unlawfully and with malice aforethought, caused the death of Curtis Tourtillott, an Indian, committed in the perpetration of a robbery,
All in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153, 1111(a), 2, and 5031, et seq.

Two days prior to filing this Information, the United States Attorney certified to this Court, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032, that the juvenile court of the State of Wisconsin does not have jurisdiction over the juvenile defendants and, as such, there is a substantial federal interest to warrant the exercise of federal jurisdiction.

On October 16, 1986, the Government moved this Court, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 5032, for permission to proceed against the juveniles as adults. Both juveniles were 16 years old on the date of the alleged crime.

18 U.S.C. § 5032 provides, in part, as follows:

*1442 a juvenile fifteen years and older alleged to have committed an act after his fifteenth birthday which if committed by an adult would be a felony that is a crime of violence or an offense described in section 841, 952(a), 955, or 959 of Title 21, criminal prosecution on the basis of the alleged act may be begun by motion to transfer of the Attorney General in the appropriate district court of the United States, if such court finds, after hearing, such transfer would be in the interest of justice ...

As a preliminary matter, it should be noted that "the proceeding held upon hearing a motion to transfer is such a `preliminary hearing in a criminal case' that the traditional rules of evidence for the conduct of trial do not apply." United States v. E.K., 471 F.Supp. 924, 929 (D.Or. 1979); Fed.R.Evid. 1101(d)(3). However, the juveniles must receive a hearing at which they are "accorded all due process rights." Id. This hearing must afford "procedural regularity sufficient in the particular circumstances to satisfy the basic requirements of due process and fairness, as well as compliance with the statutory requirement[s]...." Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 553, 86 S.Ct. 1045, 1053, 16 L.Ed.2d 84 (1966). Finally, for purposes of the hearing, the Court may assume the truth of the offense as alleged. United States v. Means, 575 F.Supp. 1068, 1069 (D.S.D.1983).

In determining whether or not it would be in the "interest of justice" to transfer a juvenile and allow him to be tried as an adult, 18 U.S.C. § 5032 directs as follows:

Evidence of the following factors shall be considered, and findings with regard to each factor shall be made in the record, in assessing whether a transfer would be in the interest of justice: the age and social background of the juvenile; the nature of the alleged offense; the extent and nature of the juvenile's prior delinquency record; the juvenile's present intellectual development and psychological maturity; the nature of past treatment efforts and the juvenile's response to such efforts; the availability of programs designed to treat the juvenile's behavioral problems.

On three separate days — October 22, 1986, November 6 and 10, 1986 — the Court conducted the requisite waiver hearing whereat it received evidence both in the form of documents and live testimony from twelve expert and fact witnesses. Further, the Court, on its own initiative, took testimony from both juveniles. The evidence adduced at the hearing addressed each of the aforementioned § 5032 factors. Finally, the Court in its Order of December 12, 1986, committed R.T. to the custody of the Attorney General for inpatient observation and study at the Lincoln Hills School at Irma, Wisconsin. The Court directed that the study should contain a psychiatric evaluation and should seek various information outlined in the Order. On January 29, 1987, the Court received the written report from the Lincoln Hills School personnel detailing their evaluations of R.T. Upon review of all of the pertinent information presented, the Court is now prepared to make its findings regarding each of the § 5032 factors and to determine whether a transfer of the juveniles would be in the interest of justice.

I

AGE AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND

T.W. is a 16-year-old (d.o.b. April 13, 1970) Menominee Indian and at the time of the offense charged was living on the Menominee Indian Reservation. His parents divorced approximately two years ago. Since the divorce, he has resided with his mother and other relatives, including his cousin, R.T. T.W. has one full sibling, a fourteen-year-old sister, and five half siblings, all older than himself and who are the product of T.W.'s father's first marriage.

The evidence received at the waiver hearing indicates that T.W. hails from a poor home environment. FBI Special Agent W. Edgar Rowland testified at the waiver hearing that T.W.'s parents have had numerous contacts with tribal law enforcement *1443 authorities, usually alcohol related. Further, T.W.'s mother is currently on federal probation for firing a gun at T.W.'s father and for burning down the trailer in which the family lived.

R.T. is a 17-year-old (d.o.b. January 31, 1970) Menominee Indian and at the time of the offense was living on the Menominee Indian Reservation with his mother. R.T.'s parents separated approximately 4-5 years ago. After the separation, R.T. and his four siblings lived with his father. In his interview with Dr. Fredrick A. Fosdal, the government's psychiatric expert who interviewed both juveniles, R.T. claimed that his father physically beat him and his siblings. Eventually all of the children moved out of their father's home and three of them, including R.T., moved into their mother's home located in Neopit, Wisconsin on the Reservation.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re J. Anthony G.
690 F. Supp. 760 (S.D. Indiana, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
652 F. Supp. 1440, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-tw-wied-1987.