Dillard v. State

The Court’s opinion became preordained when at oral argument a question from the bench made inquiry as to how old Dillard would be upon there emanating from this Court a final decision as to whether he will be treated as a juvenile or prosecuted as an adult. The poignant prophecy of that question — the answer to which the inquisitor knew — is embodied in footnote 1 to the Court’s opinion. There the Court frames the issue before us as whether Dillard, if subsequently “found guilty,” 1 will be under juvenile rehabilitation services for less than one year, or will be subject to death or life…