United States of America Ex Rel. Robert Murray v. Chester D. Owens, Superintendent of Elmira Reception Center, Elmira, New York

LUMBARD, Circuit Judge:

This case presents the question whether it is a denial of due process to commit a 15-year-old to an adult correctional facility upon an adjudication of delinquency following fact-finding by a state Family Court judge rather than a jury. The district court held that it is, 341 F.Supp. 722, and granted the juvenile’s petition for habeas corpus, ordering him released unless the state committed him to a juvenile correctional facility or granted him a new trial by jury. For the reasons stated below, we reverse.

The New York Family Court, after denying a motion for a jury…