When Erik May started working as the referee for Howard County Circuit Court’s juvenile court eight years ago, he said it was rare to see children younger than 15 run up against the criminal justice system.
“If the juvenile was younger than 13, I’d look at our prosecutor and say, ‘Why the heck am I dealing with a 12-year-old?” May said. “It was unheard of, and I was uncomfortable with it.”
That’s no longer the case. Now, he said, it’s not uncommon to see children as young as 8 years old showing up in juvenile court for beating up other kids or other criminal offenses.