Jordan Brown's attorneys file petition to amend judge's ruling

LAWRENCE COUNTY, Pennsylvania- Attorneys for a Lawrence county juvenile accused of murder will appear before a judge on Monday to try to get his case moved to juvenile court.
Lawyers representing Jordan Brown,12, have filed an application to amend an order that the boy should be tried as an adult.
Judge Dominick Motto ruled in March that Brown be tried as an adult for the murder of his father's pregnant fiancee, Kenzie Houk, and her unborn child.
Brown was 11 years old at the time of the murder.
Brown's attorneys are asking the judge to reconsider the ruling, arguing that the decision was based, in part, on the fact that Brown's refusal to confess to the crime indicates he would not respond well to treatment in a juvenile facility.
"No Pennsylvania appellate court has addressed the issue as to whether or not at a preadjudicative stage, a court can consider a child's failure to admit guilt as a factor in determining a child's amenability to juvenile rehabilitation," Brown's attorneys state in the filing.
They cite a recent decision by the Nevada supreme court in which it was found to be unconstitutional for a court to require a juvenile to admit to a crime in order to be considered amenable to rehabilitation.
The attorneys argue that unless the judge reconsiders his ruling, the ultimate verdict in the trial is likely to be overturned in light of the precedent set in the Nevada case.
In the filing, they ask the judge to amend his original order to include a statement calling the issue "a controlling question of law as to which there is a substantial ground for difference of opinion and that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance the ultimate termination of the matter.
Adding the statement would pave the way for the defense to appeal Motto's ruling that Brown be tried as an adult.
Under Pennsylvania law, all murder cases are automatically considered in adult court unless a judge rules that they should be moved to juvenile court.