Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2350
By Committee on Judiciary
Requested by Representative Martinez on behalf of Representative Carr
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AN ACT concerning the revised Kansas juvenile justice code; relating to
the prosecution of juveniles as adults; providing that no juvenile less
than 18 years of age shall be prosecuted as an adult; amending K.S.A.
38-2347 and repealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 38-2347 is hereby amended to read as follows: 38-
2347. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, at any time after
commencement of proceedings under this code against a juvenile and prior
to the beginning of an evidentiary hearing at which the court may enter a
sentence as provided in K.S.A. 38-2356, and amendments thereto, the
county or district attorney or the county or district attorney's designee may
file a motion requesting that the court authorize prosecution of the juvenile
as an adult under the applicable criminal statute. The juvenile shall be
presumed to be a juvenile, and the presumption must be rebutted by a
preponderance of the evidence. No juvenile less than 14 18 years of age
shall be prosecuted as an adult.
(2) At any time after commencement of proceedings under this code
against a juvenile offender for an offense which that, if committed by an
adult, would constitute an off-grid felony or a nondrug severity level 1
through 4 person felony, and prior to the beginning of an evidentiary
hearing at which the court may enter a sentence as provided in K.S.A. 38-
2356, and amendments thereto, the county or district attorney or the
county or district attorney's designee may file a motion requesting that the
court designate the proceedings as an extended jurisdiction juvenile
prosecution.
(3) If the county or district attorney or the county or district attorney's
designee files a motion to designate the proceedings as an extended
jurisdiction juvenile prosecution, the burden of proof is on the prosecutor
to prove the juvenile should be designated as an extended jurisdiction
juvenile.
(b) (1) Upon receiving the motion, the court shall set a time and place
for hearing. The court shall give notice of the hearing to the juvenile, each
parent, if service is possible, and the attorney representing the juvenile.
The motion shall be heard and determined prior to any further proceedings
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on the complaint.
(2) At the hearing, the court shall inform the juvenile of the
following:
(A) The nature of the charges in the complaint;
(B) the right of the juvenile to be presumed innocent of each charge;
(C) the right to trial without unnecessary delay and to confront and
cross-examine witnesses appearing in support of the allegations of the
complaint;
(D) the right to subpoena witnesses;
(E) the right of the juvenile to testify or to decline to testify; and
(F) the sentencing alternatives the court may select as the result of the
juvenile being prosecuted under an extended jurisdiction juvenile
prosecution.
(c) If the juvenile fails to appear for hearing on the motion after
having been served with notice of the hearing, the court may hear and
determine the motion in the absence of the juvenile. If the court is unable
to obtain service of process and give notice of the hearing, the court may
hear and determine the motion in the absence of the alleged juvenile
offender after having given notice of the hearing at least once a week for
two consecutive weeks in the official county newspaper of the county
where the hearing will be held.
(d) In determining whether or not prosecution as an adult should be
authorized or designating the proceeding as an extended jurisdiction
juvenile prosecution, the court shall consider each of the following factors:
(1) The seriousness of the alleged offense and whether the protection
of the community requires prosecution as an adult or designating the
proceeding as an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution;
(2) whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive,
violent, premeditated or willful manner;
(3) whether the offense was against a person or against property.
Greater weight shall be given to offenses against persons, especially if
personal injury resulted;
(4) the number of alleged offenses unadjudicated and pending against
the juvenile;
(5) the previous history of the juvenile, including whether the
juvenile had been adjudicated a juvenile offender under this code or the
Kansas juvenile justice code and, if so, whether the offenses were against
persons or property, and any other previous history of antisocial behavior
or patterns of physical violence;
(6) the sophistication or maturity of the juvenile as determined by
consideration of the juvenile's home, environment, emotional attitude,
pattern of living or desire to be treated as an adult;
(7) whether there are facilities or programs available to the court
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which are likely to rehabilitate the juvenile prior to the expiration of the
court's jurisdiction under this code; and
(8) whether the interests of the juvenile or of the community would
be better served by criminal prosecution or extended jurisdiction juvenile
prosecution.
The insufficiency of evidence pertaining to any one or more of the
factors listed in this subsection, in and of itself, shall not be determinative
of the issue. Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 38-2354, and amendments
thereto, written reports and other materials relating to the juvenile's
mental, physical, educational and social history may be considered by the
court.
(e) (1) The court may authorize prosecution as an adult upon
completion of the hearing if the court finds from a preponderance of the
evidence that the alleged juvenile offender should be prosecuted as an
adult for the offense charged. In that case, the court shall direct the alleged
juvenile offender be prosecuted under the applicable criminal statute and
that the proceedings filed under this code be dismissed.
(2) The court may designate the proceeding as an extended
jurisdiction juvenile prosecution upon completion of the hearing if the
court finds from a preponderance of the evidence that the juvenile should
be prosecuted under an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution.
(3) After a proceeding in which prosecution as an adult is requested
pursuant to subsection (a)(2), and prosecution as an adult is not authorized,
the court may designate the proceedings to be an extended jurisdiction
juvenile prosecution.
(4) A juvenile who is the subject of an extended jurisdiction juvenile
prosecution shall have the right to a trial by jury, to the effective assistance
of counsel and to all other rights of a defendant pursuant to the Kansas
code of criminal procedure. Each court shall adopt local rules to establish
the basic procedures for extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution in such
court's jurisdiction.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 38-2347 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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