Whitmer vetoes criminal justice bill that would allow juveniles to be transported with adults

Among the five House bills Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rejected on Friday was House Bill 4887 — to allow juveniles aged 16 and 17 to be transported with adult offenders — which the Democrat argued could be unsafe, out of step with national standards and a potential magnet for lawsuits.

State Rep. David LaGrand (D-Grand Rapids) and others backing the bill said they respectfully disagree. LaGrand voted for the legislation, as he felt “satisfied with the bill addressing concerns.”

State Rep. Mike Mueller (R-Linden) sponsored the bill. LaGrand said that one of the issues Mueller and others attempted to resolve with the legislation was the possibility of a crime with multiple offenders, combined with law enforcement manpower stretched thin in many areas.

Having to leave one of the offenders behind at the scene just because they are a juvenile would be a safety concern for that individual, he said. Addressing Whitmer’s concerns about the juvenile’s safety — “the risks are orders of magnitude greater when one individual is a juvenile,” as Whitmer wrote in her veto letter — LaGrand said the hypothetical is unpersuasive as there is a lack of evidence that backs it. Individuals in the back of a police vehicle are also handcuffed, which cuts down on the risk of one injuring another.

“I don’t find that the boogeyman is a great reason for making public policy,” he said, adding that it would be a different conversation if concerning instances have cropped up.

Whitmer’s office cites the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5601 et seq., a federal guideline which prohibits law enforcement from detaining juveniles alongside adults in a secure facility. She argues that this law makes it clear that adults and juveniles should rarely, if ever be detained together.

But the statute specifies “in a secure facility,” LaGrand notes, which does not generally describe a police car.

As for Whitmer’s last argument, that the bill could open up the state to legal liability if there was a claim of failure to protect the juvenile, LaGrand says one
“can invoke the specter of liability for virtually anything.”

Despite the Friday veto, criminal justice reform has been a rare point of bipartisanship in the GOP-led Michigan Legislature in recent years. Nearly all of the recommendations given by the governor’s task force have been put into law; one of the last initiatives on the list is bail reform, which the chambers ran out of time to consider before summer break.

LaGrand said that in addition to amending the state’s bail system — he refers to bail requirements as a “wealth test” — he would also like to see sentencing guideline reforms and a substantial change in the state’s drug policies.

“I completely respect the governor’s concern [about HB 4887]. As a general legislative principle, when in doubt … you should probably always default to not making new laws, unless there’s a compelling problem in the status quo,” he said.

Whitmer on Friday also vetoed House Bill 5686, which she said would complicate the process of changing the state’s Pupil Accounting Manual for schools; House Bills 4494 and 4495, which she said would decrease consumer safety protections; and House Bill 4996, which would have “place[d] restrictions on the executive branch’s exercise of its constitutional authority.

“I will not tie the hands of future Michigan governors,” Whitmer wrote.