State of Connecticut v. David A. Fernandes, Jr.

Summary

The court held that the statute did not require a hearing in juvenile court before transferring a fifteen-year-old charged with a qualifying felony to the adult criminal docket. Because juvenile status created a protected liberty interest, due process instead required an individualized hearing in criminal court before that court accepted and finalized the transfer; however, the defendant challenged only the absence of a juvenile-court hearing and waived any claim concerning criminal-court proceedings. Justice Eveleigh, joined by Justice Palmer, dissenting, would have held that the statute required a juvenile-court hearing and would have affirmed the Appellate Court.