Prosecutor warns Justice-Involved Youth bill could strip discretion; defenders say mentorship should be voluntary

The Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety questioned government witnesses on the Justice Involved Youth and Community Act of 2025 (B26-186), a bill that would create a "trusted adult" referral pathway and require that certain youth with prosecution alternatives be referred to a mentorship/wraparound pilot and that noncompliance be reported.

Elizabeth Weiser, Deputy Attorney General for the Public Safety Division at the Office of the Attorney General, told the committee the office uses consent decrees, deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) and deferred disposition agreements (DDAs) to obtain individualized, rehabilitative outcomes for youth. Weiser said B26-186 as drafted would "interfere with the exercise of the Attorney General's independent prosecutorial discretion" by requiring that a third-party trusted adult determine noncompliance and by mandating automatic termination and prosecution on that finding. "The decision whether to enter into an alternative resolution agreement like a DPA or a DDA is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion entrusted to the executive branch," she said, and added that courts and prosecutors have authority to reinstate petitions when appropriate.

Katerina Seminova of the Public Defender Service said the bill risks undermining trust between youth and mentors because the proposed trusted adult would be required to report alleged noncompliance to probation officers, which would make mentees less willing to turn to the adults for help. Seminova and PDS Deputy Chief Hannah McElhinney urged that any mentorship be voluntary and come from already trusted community or school figures; they also cautioned against mandatory, automatic revocations that remove prosecutorial or judicial discretion.

Council members pressed witnesses on outcomes data. OAG provided completion-rate figures: a five-year average of about 76% completion for alternatives from 2019'2023 and a 2023 completion rate reported at about 64% (2,062 matters presented to OAG; 315 entered into consent decrees/DPAs/DDAs; 202 successfully completed that subset). Committee members asked for additional breakdowns of revocations, rearrests and how many youths who failed to complete alternatives later received no further prosecution; OAG agreed to follow up with more precise counts.

Why it matters: The bill aims to expand supports for youth on prosecution alternatives while trying to add accountability for attendance and participation. Prosecutorial and defense witnesses agreed on the value of wraparound supports but pushed back on mandatory revocation language and duplication with existing probation and court social services; both offices asked the committee to craft a voluntary, evidence-based pilot instead of removing prosecutorial discretion. The committee asked for additional data on completion, revocation and reoffending before moving ahead.