In 2023 the San Mateo County District Attorney, Steve Wagstaffe attempted to try 3 Latino youth as adults. Since then all 3 of the boys have thankfully been remanded to juvenile court where they belong. In 2024 after 1 yr. and 7 months the judge described in detail the 5 criteria necessary for a youth to be transferred to adult court and that the 3rd youth also did not meet the needed 5 criteria required by law.  This DA has attempted to charge 8 youth as adults and to date has failed 7 times at great expense to you and I the taxpayer as well as the trauma to the victims, defendants and community. 

Science and the Supreme Court agree that our brains are not fully developed until the age of 25, also that they are very amenable to rehabilitation at younger ages. Research data also show us that incarceration, especially in adult prisons leads to higher recidivism and thus less public safety.  

Please join us in keeping youth in the juvenile court that was designed for them. 

Dear District Attorney Wagstaffe:

We, the signatories of this petition, support the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission’s unanimous resolution, below, opposing your practice of trying youth as adults. We urge you to halt the practice of trying children in adult court and to instead rely exclusively on the juvenile justice system to resolve criminal matters involving youth.  

SAN MATEO COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE & DELINQUENCY PREVENTION COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 2022-02

RESOLUTION ON YOUTH TRIED AS ADULTS

WHEREAS, the Mission of the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission is to serve as the public conscience in the best interest of juveniles, advocate for programs and services that prevent youth incarceration, and uphold respect for the human dignity of all minors who enter the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice System.

WHEREAS, the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission is dedicated to evidence-based juvenile and criminal justice reform measures that improve public safety and reduce recidivism.

WHEREAS, decades of research and the U.S. Supreme Court have confirmed that youth are neurologically, socially, and developmentally different from adults, and therefore are more likely to be rehabilitated by developmentally appropriate treatment and intervention.

WHEREAS, the juvenile justice system was developed to address the specific behavioral, developmental, and mental health needs of youth and are therefore better equipped to hold and treat them after an offense has been committed.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission supports efforts that grant juvenile courts original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving youth under the age of 18.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission supports efforts to keep youth under the age of 18 in juvenile justice facilities instead of adult facilities.