Woodard v. Wainwright
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
556 F.2d 781 (1977)
- Written by Meredith Hamilton Alley, JD
Facts
When Wayne Woodard and Eddie Bell (defendants) were 16 years old, a grand jury indicted them as adults for robbery, punishable by a sentence to life imprisonment. Under Florida statute, the juvenile court had original jurisdiction over children ages 18 and younger, with three exceptions. One of the exceptions included juveniles indicted by a grand jury for any violation that was punishable by the death sentence or a sentence to life imprisonment; under those circumstances, the juvenile was automatically removed from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and transferred to criminal court. Woodard and Bell filed applications for writs of habeas corpus in federal court, and the district court denied their applications. Woodard and Bell appealed, arguing that juveniles had the right to trial under the juvenile statute and that the state could not automatically deprive juveniles of that right without a hearing.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (King, J.)
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