Criminal Defense of Immigrants

A juvenile cannot be prosecuted in federal adult criminal court for conspiracy to commit an offense unless an overt act was committed by the juvenile prior to his or her 18th birthday.[178]  A person can only be convicted as an adult if s/he “participated in” or “ratified” the conspiracy after attaining the age of 18.[179]  Furthermore, a person must be acquitted if s/he withdrew from the conspiracy prior to turning 18.[180]  Moreover, since a conspiracy is not invariably a crime of violence, under a categorical analysis, a juvenile cannot be transferred to adult court for conspiracy even though the overt acts included acts of violence.[181]

[178] United States v. Chambers, 944 F.2d 1253, 1257 (6th Cir. 1991).

[179] United States v. Welch, 15 F.3d 1202, 1209 (1st Cir. 1993), citing United States v. Maddox, 944 F.2d 1223, 1233 (6th Cir. 1991).

[180] Id. at 1211 (citation omitted).

[181] United States v. Baker, 10 F.3d 1374 (9th Cir. 1993)