United States v. John Doe

EAST, Senior District Judge,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent from the result reached by the majority in this case. Doe wanted heads on both sides of justice. He first sought the benefits of the FJDA on his challenge to the information .on grounds which were open only to an accused juvenile delinquent, and then on the eve of an evidentiary hearing by the District Court on the charge of delinquency, he elected “to be proceeded against as an adult . . . .” I cannot read § 5031 as authorizing an alleged juvenile delinquent to “be proceeded against under [the FJDA] . . . .” for some juvenile beneficial reasons and then in midstream request “to be proceeded against as an adult . . . .” with the right of a jury trial. An accused juvenile delinquent should be required, upon advice of counsel, to timely exercise his leave “to be proceeded against as an adult . . .” before placing any adjudicatory issue before the Court.

I would affirm.