United States v. John Doe

Defendant John Doe appeals his adjudication of juvenile delinquency for knowingly engaging in sexual contact with a person younger than twelve years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 5031 and 2244(a)(1). Defendant contends that the district court never acquired jurisdiction because the government failed to comply with 18 U.S.C. § 5032 , and that the court improperly relied on groundless inferences in sentencing him to a three year term of imprisonment and recommending incarceration with the California Youth Authority. We conclude that although this court has jurisdiction over the appeal, the district court lacked jurisdiction to commence juvenile delinquency proceedings against the minor. Therefore we vacate the adjudication of delinquent status, vacate the sentence imposed and remand to the district court with instructions to dismiss the information without prejudice.

I.

Section 5032 of the United States Code, Title 18, sets out two different certification requirements for juvenile delinquency proceedings in federal district courts: (1) a “need certification” provision, requiring certification by the Attorney General that there is a need for proceedings to take place in…