Ex Parte Navarro

Miguel Navarro was arrested when he was 15 years old, transferred to adult court without citing any specific findings of fact or evidence underpinning the transfer decision, and subsequently sentenced to 99 years in an adult prison.

Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in support of Mr. Navarro, urging the Court to apply their decision in Moon v. State retroactively and grant habeas relief to defendants, who as juveniles, were charged in adult criminal court without any written evidence in the transfer order that waiver of juvenile court jurisdiction was necessary under Texas law. We argued that Moon articulates a new rule that should be applied retroactively to cases on collateral review and prohibits punishing the most vulnerable youth with adult punishments.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed Mr. Navarro’s writ applications as procedurally barred and did not reach the merits of his case.