S.B. 724 (S-3): SUMMARY                                              JUVENILE DETENTION IN ADULT JAIL

Senate Bill 724 (Substitute S-3 as passed by the Senate) Sponsor: Senator Jon Cisky

Committee: Judiciary Date Completed: 1-11-96

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to allow the confinement in a county jail of a juvenile or individual less than 17 years of age who was under the jurisdiction of the circuit court or the Detroit Recorder’s Court for a felony charge. The Code generally prohibits the confinement of a juvenile in a police station, prison, jail, lock-up, or reformatory. A juvenile whose habits or conduct are considered to be a menace to other children or who may not otherwise be safely detained, however, may be ordered by a court to be placed in a jail or other place of detention for adults, but must be confined in a room or ward that is out of sight and sound from adults.

A juvenile or person under 17 could not be confined in a county jail, under the bill, without the prior approval of the county sheriff. If a juvenile or person under 17 were confined in the county jail, he or she would have to be held physically separate from adult prisoners.

The court, upon the motion of the juvenile or person under 17 who was subject to confinement under the bill, could, for good cause shown, order the individual to be confined as otherwise provided by law.

MCL 764.27a                                                                                   Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on the Department of Corrections or the courts. The bill could result in indeterminate cost savings to local government jail operations, if the new provisions in the bill, which would require juveniles to be held physically separate from adult prisoners rather than kept out of sight and sound from adults, as required by current law, resulted in less costly jail operations for detaining juvenile offenders.

Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen

M. Bain

s9596\s724sb

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.

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