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Criminal lawyers are ready and available to assist you and your child through the Juvenile Justice System. The processing of juvenile offenders is somewhat similar to adult criminal processing, but there are crucial differences. This is why it is important to retain a lawyer with specific experience in juvenile law.
Juvenile courts usually have jurisdiction over matters concerning children, including delinquency, neglect, and adoption. They also handle “status offenses” such as truancy and running away, which are not applicable to adults. State statutes define which persons are under the original jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction in delinquency matters is 17 in most states.
Many juveniles are referred to juvenile courts by law enforcement officers, but many others are referred by school officials, social services agencies, neighbors, and even parents, for behavior or conditions that are determined to require intervention by the formal system for social control.
At the arrest, a decision is made either to send the matter further into the justice system or to divert the case out of the system, often to alternative programs. Examples of alternative programs include drug treatment, individual or group counseling, or referral to educational and recreational programs.
When juveniles are referred to the juvenile courts, the court’s intake department or the prosecuting attorney determines whether sufficient grounds exist to warrant filing a petition that requests an adjudicatory hearing or a request to transfer jurisdiction to an adult criminal court. At this point, many juveniles are released or diverted to alternative programs.
All states allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal court under certain circumstances. In many states, the legislature statutorily excludes certain (usually serious) offenses from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court regardless of the age of the accused. In some states and at the federal level under certain circumstances, prosecutors have the discretion to either file criminal charges against the juvenile directly in adult criminal courts or proceed through the juvenile justice process. The juvenile court’s intake department or the prosecutor may petition the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction to adult criminal court, or the juvenile court may order referral to criminal court for trial as adults. In some jurisdictions, juveniles processed as adults may upon conviction be sentenced to either an adult or a juvenile facility.
In those cases where the juvenile court retains jurisdiction, the case may be handled formally by filing a delinquency petition or informally by diverting the juvenile to other agencies or programs in lieu of further court processing.
If a petition for an adjudicatory hearing is accepted, the juvenile may be brought before a court that is quite a bit different than the court with jurisdiction over adult offenders. Despite the considerable discretion associated with juvenile court proceedings, juveniles are afforded many of the due-process safeguards associated with adult criminal trials. Several states permit the use of juries in juvenile courts. However, in light of the U.S. Supreme Court holding that juries are not essential to juvenile hearings, most states do not.
In disposing of cases, juvenile courts usually have far more discretion than adult courts. In addition to such options as probation, commitment to a residential facility, restitution, or fines, state laws grant juvenile courts the power to order removal of children from their homes to foster homes or treatment facilities. Juvenile courts also may order participation in special programs aimed at shoplifting prevention, drug counseling, or driver education.
Once a juvenile is under juvenile court disposition, the court may retain jurisdiction until the juvenile legally becomes an adult (at age 21in most states). In some jurisdictions, juvenile offenders may be classified as youthful offenders which can lead to extended sentences.
Following release from an institution, juveniles are often ordered to a period of aftercare which is similar to parole supervision for adult offenders. Juvenile offenders who violate the conditions of aftercare may have their aftercare revoked, resulting in being recommitted to a facility. Juveniles who are classified as youthful offenders and violate the conditions of aftercare may be subject to adult sanctions.