NCJ Number
118386
Date Published
1985
Length
56 pages
Annotation
This paper, designed to respond to the practical needs of lawyers representing youth accused of delinquent acts, identifies stages in the juvenile justice system through which a juvenile case proceeds and includes checklists of factors to consider in each stage.
Abstract
Stages in the juvenile justice system include client interviewing; intake; arraignment/detention; plea bargaining; preadjudication; transfer, waiver, certification, or jurisdictional hearing; adjudication; disposition; and appeal. The initial client interview is crucial not only because of the information the attorney will expect to elicit from the client but also for the information the attorney should impart. Intake is the point where the decision is made to file a petition. Although arraignment and detention are distinct events, they are often combined into one hearing in juvenile court. Arraignment is a process in which the accused youth is presented formally to the court and is asked to enter a plea. Detention encompasses youth placement in a court-sanctioned home or secure detention center. Plea bargaining represents an exchange; generally, the prosecutor exchanges a chance for a conviction on a more serious charge in return for avoiding the expenses and uncertainty of a trial. Juvenile codes generally establish short deadlines within which specific preadjudication proceedings must take place. A transfer, waiver, certification, or jurisdictional hearing determines whether the juvenile court should retain jurisdiction over a juvenile accused of a crime or transfer the individual to a criminal court for prosecution. The adjudicatory hearing is the trial stage, while the dispositional hearing is the sentencing stage. Although there is no constitutional right to an appeal, virtually every juvenile code provides for an appeal from a delinquency disposition. 8 references.