State v. Scurlock

The issue in this case is whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction over a defendant who commits an offense prior to reaching the age of 18 but who is not indicted until after his eighteenth birthday due to intentional delay on the part of the district attorney in seeking the indictment. The trial court held that the juvenile court had exclusive jurisdiction and dismissed the indictment. The State appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed, 35 Or App 579, 581 P2d 986 (1978). We granted review, 285 Or (1979).

Defendant was involved in an automobile accident on November 11, 1976, three months…