The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a female teen charged with fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl in 2014 isn't entitled by law to a jury trial in juvenile court.
The now 18-year-old was 14 when Endia Martin was killed in Chicago in a shooting stemming from a Facebook feud about a boy. The suspect's attorneys requested the jury trial. Under Illinois law only juvenile defendants who have repeated or violent criminal histories are eligible for jury trials. The shooting suspect had no previous convictions.
Cook County prosecutors appealed when a judge found part of the Illinois law unconstitutional.
In its Thursday ruling the court said first-time juvenile offenders "are not similarly situated" to repeat offenders. The shooting suspect's trial has been delayed pending the high court ruling.
