Opinion
Manns&s Mann, Salyersville, Kentucky, for appellant.
A. E. Funk, Atty. Gen., Zeb. A. Stewart, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
VAN SANT, Commissioner.
Appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to confinement in the State Reformatory for the remainder of his life.
It appears from the evidence that he was only sixteen (16) years of age at the time of his conviction. The record fails to show that following his arrest he was taken before the Juvenile Session of the County Court, or that the County Court relinquished jurisdiction over him in order to permit him to be proceeded against in accordance with the laws governing crimes.
We consistently have held that in the prosecution of a juvenile in the Circuit Court, the record must show affirmatively that all steps necessary to vest jurisdiction in the Circuit Court have been taken. Such procedure is outlined in KRS 199.080. Edwards v. Commonwealth, 264 Ky. 4, 94 S.W.2d 25, and cases therein cited. Since the record fails to show that the procedure provided for in KRS 199.080 was followed, all proceedings in the Circuit Court, including the indictment, were void. For this reason we are compelled to reverse the judgment; without prejudice, however, to the Commonwealth's right to proceed in accordance with the statute above referred to.
The judgment is reversed.