UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ALEXSI LOPEZ, a/k/a Alexis Lopez
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Harris, June 19, 2017,
Juvenile Jurisdiction (Federal)- A defendant who was under 18 when he committed a crime is not a juvenile under federal law if he is 21 or older when he is indicted.

Facts: In 2007, Lopez (then 17) and his co-defendant robbed a brothel in PG County, raping one victim and killing another.
DNA evidence tied Lopez to the crime years later and he was indicted in 2013.
Because Lopez was over 18 at the time he was indicted, he was tried as an adult.
Lopez was convicted after a federal jury trial.
He then appealed, arguing that he should have been tried as a juvenile and that the government took too long to bring the case.

Held: The Fourth Circuit disagreed. Lopez was over 21 when he was indicted, so there would be no benefit placing him in the juvenile system. Moreover, the State moved quickly to charge him once they got a hit on his DNA, so there was no unjust delay.

Juveniles (Federal)- Under Federal Law, juveniles are not generally tried in federal court.

Juveniles (Federal) – An individual under 18 at the time of the offense does not qualify as a juvenile if he is 21 or older when he is charged