Harris v. Commonwealth

In this criminal appeal, we deal with one aspect of the procedure for transfer of a minor’s case from a juvenile court to a circuit court. We also consider a question of double jeopardy.

The chronology is important. On June 23, 1979, a young woman was abducted and raped in woods near an apartment complex in Fairfax County. Within a week, defendant Terry J. Harris, 16 years of age, was taken into custody by Fairfax County juvenile authorities and charged with the offenses. Subsequently, a judge of the local juvenile and domestic relations district court denied the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s…