Lawmakers hear overview of Vermont juvenile justice pathways, ‘youthful offender’ option and ‘big 14’ offenses

Members of the House Human Services and House Judiciary committees received a primer Jan. 15 on how Vermont’s juvenile justice system routes young people who commit acts that would be crimes if committed by adults.

The overview, delivered by Eric Petitatrick of the Office of Legislative Council, explained that Vermont operates three distinct tracks: criminal proceedings in the criminal division, juvenile proceedings in the family division, and a hybrid youthful offender option. “There’s an entirely separate criminal justice system for young people,” Petitatrick said, adding that the core factors determining which track applies are “what kind of offense was it and how old was the young person?”

Why it matters: placement determines whether a case is public, whether the person faces lifelong collateral consequences and what supervisory services are available. Petitatrick told lawmakers that convictions in the criminal division are typically public and can carry collateral consequences such as limits on firearm possession, housing and federal benefits, while juvenile proceedings in the family division are confidential and can leave a young person without a criminal record if they complete court-ordered supervision.

Key facts and recent changes

- The legislature has designated a group of serious offenses that generally begin in the criminal division. Petitatrick described those offenses on the handout as a set now commonly referred to as the “big 14.” He said the list consists of 11 offenses that apply to defendants age 14 and older and three additional offenses that apply only to defendants age 16 and older. The 11 on the primary list include: arson causing death; robbery with a dangerous weapon; robbery causing bodily injury; aggravated assault; murder; manslaughter; kidnapping; unlawful restraint; maiming; sexual assault; aggravated sexual assault; and aggravated sexual assault of a child. (The transcript lists these as the “big 11” and the three added offenses on the back of the handout as using a firearm during a felony, trafficking a regulated drug and aggravated stalking.)

- Act 125 (referred to during the hearing) modified the prior list (described historically as the “big 12”), removing burglary of an occupied dwelling and adding three offenses with a higher age threshold, which is why speakers referred to “big 14.” Petitatrick said the categorization and age thresholds are legislative policy choices.

- State’s attorneys retain a key discretion point: when a qualifying offense is on the big-14 list, the prosecutor may “direct file” into the family division as a youthful offender case. If they do not direct file and the case starts in criminal court, public filings and publicity already occur; moving later to family division does not retroactively make earlier criminal-division materials confidential, Petitatrick said.

Youthful offender treatment

The youthful offender track (sometimes abbreviated YO) is a hybrid that can provide the confidentiality and services of the family division but exposes the young person to criminal sentencing if they fail to comply with juvenile-period requirements. Petitatrick described it as “a carrot and stick” — successful completion preserves confidentiality; failure can return the case to the criminal division for sentencing.

Raise-the-age status

Petitatrick reviewed the multi-year “raise the age” implementation. Vermont raised the upper age for juvenile jurisdiction from 17 to 18 effective July 1, 2020, and a further step expanding juvenile jurisdiction to age 19 (for non–big-14 offenses) has been postponed several times. Under current statute discussed at the hearing, that next step is scheduled to take effect April 1, 2025: on that date 19‑year‑olds charged with non–big-14 offenses will begin in the family division unless other statutory transfer rules apply.

What lawmakers asked

Committee members asked about data on how often cases are filed in each track, who holds that data and whether Vermont’s age-and-offense thresholds are comparable with other states. Petitatrick and staff said the Department for Children and Families (DCF) and the courts maintain case counts and that legislators could request that data from witnesses.

Ending

Speakers stressed that the statutory design — what offenses are listed and what age thresholds apply — is a policy choice for the General Assembly. Petitatrick urged members to weigh the differences between public criminal processing and confidential juvenile processing as they consider changes to statutes or implementation timing.