by TChris

Judges are often asked to decide whether a juvenile who has been accused of a serious crime should be prosecuted as an adult. Because that decision is usually discretionary, hinging upon the judge's evaluation of several factors, parents sometimes question why other kids are treated as kids while their own child is exposed to the harsh consequences of an adult conviction.

Lisa Cervantes wonders whether the decision to waive her son into adult court was fair.

His mother not only is confident of his innocence but also is angry that he was ordered to stand trial as an adult -- while a judge ruled last week that another Salinas teen will be tried as a juvenile for murder. That teen, a 17-year-old Salinas girl, is accused of driving drunk and killing two people near Lake San Antonio. "She's white and she goes to Notre Dame (High School)," Cervantes said Friday. "I'm Latina and I'm from the east side. She can be rehabilitated and my son can't. What's up with that?"