March 17, 2001

Attorneys for Charles "Andy" Williams announced yesterday they will challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 21, which requires adult trial for juveniles who commit certain crimes.

The decision almost certainly will delay the case against the 15-year-old murder suspect. And it marks the second time a high-profile case from San Diego will be used to challenge the sweeping proposition.

Lawyers for eight Rancho Peñasquitos youths charged with the hate-crime beatings of migrant workers have successfully challenged another portion of the law. That case is headed to the state Supreme Court.

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Williams, a former freshman at Santana High School, is charged with two counts of murder and 26 charges of attempted murder and assault with a firearm.

He is accused of opening fire on the Santee campus March 5, squeezing off more than 30 rounds from a .22-caliber revolver before being arrested.

Two students, 17-year-old Randy Gordon and 14-year-old Bryan Zuckor, were killed. Thirteen people, including two adults, were injured.

Randy Mize, the lead defense attorney for Williams, said the case belongs in Juvenile Court, where the "best justice" can be achieved.

Part of the challenge will focus on a provision of the law that requires adult trials for youths 14 and older who are charged with first-degree murder and one special circumstance, such as killing more than one person or lying in wait.

Deputy Public Defender Jo Pastore said the appeal also will contend the law amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because it requires convicted 16-year-olds to be sent into the general adult prison population.

Williams' attorneys have an uphill fight. There are similar laws in other states, and those have been held to be constitutional, said William La Fond, who successfully argued the Rancho Peñasquitos case in front of the appeals court.

Attorneys will file notice they are challenging the law March 26, the date Williams is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges. Their announcement yesterday was made during a news conference by Jeff Williams, who was making his first appearance in public since his son was arrested.

If convicted of all charges in adult court, Williams faces up to 500 years in prison. If he is convicted in Juvenile Court, he would be held until age 25.

Prosecutor Kris Anton said she was not surprised by the defense move. "We were expecting it. I knew they would try to exhaust any challenges to Proposition 21," she said.

Before the voter-approved measure became law in March 2000, a juvenile always had to have a hearing in front of a judge to decide if the case would remain in the juvenile system. Those hearings still take place, and according to the District Attorney's Office, the majority end up being transferred to adult court.