Friday, March 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The year was 1911. William Taft was president.
That's how long it's been legal in Nevada to arrest a child as young as 8 years old for a crime.
The January arrest of 9-year-old Jeremy Anderson of Las Vegas on a felony charge of writing his name in cement has attracted national media attention.
His mother is incensed because he was arrested at his school and booked into Juvenile Hall without her being notified. He pleaded not guilty this week and is set for an April 21 trial in Juvenile Court. Jeremy has said a workman gave him permission to sign his name and leave foot and hand prints in a freshly poured sidewalk.
Regardless of how rare one might perceive this case to be, the arrest of pre-teens is not unusual. Metro Police arrested 21 8-year-olds, 31 9-year-olds, 54 10-year olds, 132 11-year-olds and 291 12-year-olds last year and part of 1995 for robbery, vandalism, assault, larceny or petty larceny.
That doesn't include other violent or gang-related crimes, where arrests by age were not immediately available.
An 86-year-old law, Nevada Revised Statute 194.010, defines individuals capable of committing crimes. Excluded are children under 8, and children between 8 and 14 where there is no proof they knew what they did was wrong.
Nevada courts upheld the law in a 1981 murder case in which a 13-year-old was found to have known of the wrongfulness of his act because he testified that he knew killing people was wrong. He also hid the murder weapon, and fabricated stories in an attempt to create an alibi.
Another state law, however, notes that children processed through juvenile court aren't adjudicated as criminals.
Nevada, like many other states, has recently lowered the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults for certain violent crimes. But state Sen. Mark James, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he is unaware of any discussion affecting the minimum age at which an individual can be punished for a crime.
Unless someone complains about the law, he added, he's not certain whether it needs to be changed.
"It has to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis," James said. "Some crimes involve an intent that a child cannot commit."
Under Common Law, as imported by this country from England, children under 7 years old do not have the mental capacity to commit a crime, said law Professor Gerard Glynn of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. But Glynn, who has done research on juvenile justice, suggested it may be unwise to punish children under age 10.
"Most delinquency facilities are targeted for your older juveniles," Glynn said. "When you're dealing with kids from 8 to 18, the facility has to have a broad range of psychological and educational programs."
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