NCJ Number
74663
Date Published
1980
Length
52 pages
Annotation
This paper addresses issues which must be considered when the juvenile court's jurisdiction over status offenders in Minnesota is analyzed.
Abstract
The paper notes that under current legislation, pure status offenders (children petitioned into court only for acts which would not be criminal if committed by adults) are classified as delinquent children in Minnesota. Legal and social issues relevant to the question of whether or not status offenders should be reclassified, are reviewed. Current legislation, definitions, and dispositions available to the juvenile court receive attention; and a brief examination of legal criticisms of the juvenile court explains why the court has become a quasi-adversarial, when it began as an informal, private, and nonadversarial institution. Next, the report discusses options available to the governor and legislature for addressing the juvenile court's jurisdiction over status offenders. Recent legislative changes in other States are reviewed to provide some background in actual responses to the status offender issues. Three general options for Minnesota are discussed: no change in current legislation, placement of status offenders in dependency or neglect categories, and enactment of a new category for status offenders which would separate them from other categories. Special options for truancy and the emancipation of minors are also considered. Finally, the staff recommendations of the State's crime control planning board are presented, including removing status offenders from the delinquent child category, excluding court intervention from status offender cases except under dependency or neglect conditions, eliminating truancy as a justification for court intervention, and enacting an emancipation-of-minor statute. Specific legislative changes needed to implement these recommendations are delineated. Footnotes and a data table are provided.