California bill seeks to make it easier to charge juveniles as adults

California bill seeks to make it easier to charge juveniles as adults

The bill, called "Lorensos Law" after a teen killed at a mall, aims to change California law to make it easier for juveniles to be charged as adults.

OAKLAND, Calif. - A bill that aims to make it easier for juveniles to be tried as adults is up for a final committee vote on Tuesday, which will determine whether it advances in the California Assembly.

Assembly Bill 2024, called "Lorenso's Law," failed to pass Tuesday with a 4-3 vote. Two Democrats and two Republicans supported the bill, while three Democrats voted against the bill.

San Francisco Assemblyman Matt Haney did not attend that Public Safety Committee meeting, and his vote could be a deciding factor next Tuesday.

"Lorenso's Law" named after teen who was stabbed

Dig deeper:

AB 2024 is named after Lorenso Sanchez, 17, a high school sophomore from Corcoran, California, who was killed in an attack by a group of teenagers at a shopping mall.

The boy's mother, Julia Sanchez, said after the suspects were arrested, she was upset to learn the 15-year-old suspect who allegedly stabbed her son would be tried as a juvenile, and the maximum sentence if convicted would be seven years.

"These juveniles, if they take someone's life, they should do the time," Julia Sanchez said. "They didn't only take my son's life away, they also took our lives away. We can't go back to the life we had."

Last Tuesday, Julia Sanchez spoke out in support of Assembly Bill 2040, authored by Republican Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo of Tulare.

What AB 2024 says

Current California law says juvenile suspects can be tried as adults when "The court shall find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation."

AB 2040 would replace "clear and convincing evidence" with "a preponderance of evidence."

"The jury would have the ultimate decision," Nina Salarno, District Attorney of Modoc County, said. "But the 'clear and convincing' is so high at that standard, it is difficult for prosecutors to meet that bar."

Local perspective:

The bill touches on an issue impacting recent high-profile Bay Area crimes.

Juveniles have been charged in last year's Santana Row killing of David Gutierrez, 15, as well as the robbery and fatal shooting of Derbing Alvarado, 15, in Oakland.

The Valley Fair Mall shooting last December injured multiple people, and the district attorney said juveniles were at fault.

Opponents share concerns

The other side:

Skeptics of AB 2024 say juveniles are developing and courts already have a path to transfer the worst cases.

"The Supreme Court recognized in Roper v. Simmons, juvenile cognition means they are not as deterrable or as responsible as adults. With crime historically low today, it makes no sense to run the experiment again," UC Berkeley Law Professor Jonathan Simon said.