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Statement of Jayson L. Spiegel
Maryland Military Coalition
SB 115 – Juvenile Court – Concurrent Jurisdiction –
Juvenile Offenses on Military Installations
February 8, 2023
FAVORABLE

Dear Chair Smith and Members of the Judicial Proceedings Committee:
The Maryland Military Coalition (MMC) strongly supports SB 115, which will establish that the jurisdiction of a juvenile court is concurrent with that of a federal court over proceedings involving a violation of federal law committed by a juvenile on a Department of Defense installation.
Maryland is home to several installations which house a significant number of military families with children, including Andrews Air Force Base, Fort Meade, and Aberdeen Providing Ground.
Under the current system, crimes committed by juveniles on military installations are adjudicated in the federal court system, which lacks juvenile-focused resources, and typically tries juveniles as adults. The best solution may be referring the juvenile to treatment, counseling and other services, which the federal court cannot do. If concurrent jurisdiction is established, offenses committed by juveniles can be handled by the state juvenile court system, allowing for more appropriate adjudication, sentencing, diversion, case management and potential expungement of records.
The Maryland Military Coalition is a non-partisan organization of 19 Veteran organizations representing over 150,000 Maryland uniformed services men and women and their families -- almost half of the 355,000 veterans in the State. Therefore, we support this legislation and ask the committee for a Favorable Report. We thank Senator Jackson for his continued leadership and support of the uniformed services and their families.
Respectfully,
Jayson Spiegel
LTC USAR (Ret)
President