In re W.M.

¶ 1. This interlocutory appeal arises from the family court’s decision to transfer a juvenile marijuana-possession case back to the district court in which charges were originally filed. Because the family court did not have authority to transfer the case prior to a merits hearing, we reverse and remand.

¶ 2. The facts, which are undisputed, may be briefly summarized. When juvenile W.M., age sixteen, arrived at the district court for her arraignment on a domestic assault charge, a sheriff’s deputy searched her bag and found marijuana. W.M. was later arraigned in the district court on a charge…