US: New Jersey Indiscriminately Prosecutes Children as Adults

(Princeton, February 11, 2025) – A New Jersey law that allows prosecutors to unilaterally decide whether children are tried as adults is causing devastating harm, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The law disproportionately affects children of color, yields arbitrary geographic disparities, and prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation. New Jersey lawmakers should end this harmful practice and put in place meaningful judicial oversight to ensure fairer outcomes for children.The 60-page report, “Kids You Throw Away: New Jersey’s Indiscriminate Prosecution of Children as Adults,” reveals that prosecutors have near-total discretion to decide whether a child is tried as a child or an adult, known as a “waiver decision,” and leads to vastly different outcomes depending on geography and with stark racial disparities. Judges can only intervene if they find that a prosecutor has abused their discretion, a virtually impossible standard to meet. This leaves children vulnerable to arbitrary life-altering decisions, with little to no oversight or recourse.