Going into effect on Dec. 1, the amendment to North Carolina’s Raise the Age Law will treat 16-and-17-year-olds as adults if they commit certain serious felonies.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Five years ago– North Carolina was one of the last two states in the country to count 16 and 17-year-olds as juveniles in the court of law. Under the law’s initial framework, these two ages could be charged in adult court depending on the seriousness of the crime, but it was a process that could be quite time-consuming.
“In an era of electronic criminal background checks, a prospective employer might say, why take a chance on the North Carolinian when I can hire an equally qualified young person from Virginia, Tennessee or South Carolina,” said Mark Martin, Dean to High Point University’s School of Law.
In June, the North Carolina legislature passed an amendment to the law that says all 16-and 17-year-olds who commit Class A through E felonies will be tried as adults immediately. The amendment was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper, but his veto was overridden by the legislature. It went into effect on December 1st, 2024.
“In the legislative process, no process is perfect, and you can have some flaws in the law and that is essentially what has happened here over a few short years,” Martin said.
Martin also served as North Carolina’s Chief Justice from 2014-2019 and helped implement the original law.
“The original goal of the law was to give young people that one opportunity to take responsibility for it, where there wasn’t a victim, where it wasn’t serious or assault and they make better choices so that they didn’t become a part of that revolving door that can happen in our criminal justice system,” said Martin.
According to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, last year saw an uptick in the statewide delinquency rate for the juvenile justice system – from 26 juveniles per 1,000 youths between 8 and 17 years old in 2022, to 29 juveniles per 1,000.
“For the 16- and 17-year-old offenders, now these cases will actually originate in superior court and then can be transferred if appropriate to do So, uh, to juvenile court.”
Other changes made by the amendment include the following:
- 16- and 17-year-olds who were previously tried as adults might have their cases moved to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
- 16- and 17-year-olds who were charged with a Class F through I felony or non-motor vehicle misdemeanor offenses will still be under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
- 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds who were tried as adults might have their cases moved to juvenile court.
