United States v. Gerald N., Juvenile

Appellant Gerald N. was charged as a juvenile with one count of assault with intent to commit rape and one count of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to do bodily harm. Appellant pleaded not guilty to both counts and a trial date was set. The government then filed a motion to proceed against a juvenile as an adult, as provided for in 18 U.S.C. § 5032 (Supp. V 1987). The district judge granted the government’s motion and this interlocutory appeal followed.

Before proceeding to the merits we must consider whether orders transferring juveniles for adult prosecution are immediately appealable under the collateral order exception of Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 , 69 S.Ct. 1221 , 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949). “To fall within the limited class of final collateral orders, an order must (1) ‘conclusively determine the disputed question,’ (2) ‘resolve an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action,’ and (3) ‘be effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment.’ ” Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States, — U.S. -, 109 S.Ct. 1494, 1497 , 103 L.Ed.2d 879 (1989) (quoting Coo ders & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U.S. 463, 468 , 98 S.Ct. 2454,…