Ohio Juveniles Can Get New Charges After Adult Court Transfer

Ohio’s adult court has jurisdiction to charge minors with crimes even if the juvenile court found no probable cause for those same offenses, the state’s Supreme Court said Wednesday.

The unambiguous terms of the governing state law provide that adult courts have jurisdiction over a case when transferred from juvenile court as though it originated in that court, “extending not only to offenses charged in the juvenile complaint but to any offense for which the grand jury issues an indictment,” the state’s high court said.

The decision overturns a 2022 ruling in State v. Smith, in which the ...