In a recent opinion published by the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, the court vacated a trial court’s dismissal of an assault indictment. On appeal, the State had argued that the trial court should not have dismissed the defendant’s indictment, which was based on the defendant’s status as a minor at the time of the offenses. The higher court agreed with the State, ultimately concluding that the dismissal was in error. The court sent the case back down to the trial court for additional proceedings.
Facts of the Case
According to the opinion, the defendant allegedly committed several assaults in 2022, all while she was in the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. The defendant turned eighteen years old several days after the last assault. Soon after, a grand jury indicted the defendant on aggravated assault, assault by a prisoner with bodily fluids, and aggravated assault. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that she was under 18 when she committed the crimes. The court dismissed the indictment.
The State’s Appeal
The State promptly appealed this dismissal, citing Arizona law that says that when a defendant who is eighteen years or older is criminally charged, the court can hear those proceedings regardless of whether the defendant committed the crime before her eighteenth birthday. Because of case law establishing this fact, the defendant’s case was correctly heard by the superior court instead of by a juvenile court. Therefore, the dismissal should be reversed.