subject: A Quick Guide To Juvenile Court Process And Your Felony Attorney [print this page] So its happened, your child was arrested for a crime and the State has decided to proceed with the case against your child and the long court process has begun. What does it all mean? Let this serve as a quick guide to this somewhat confusing process.
There are many similarities between juvenile law and standard adult court, but there are some major differences as well. The first thing that is different is the document the State files to charge your child. In an adult case it might be called a complaint or an indictment looking to convict the person of a crime. In juvenile courts the charging document is called a Petition for Adjudication of Wardship. What that all means is that the State is asking the court to make the child a ward of the court because they did something against the law. A child does not get convicted of a crime, they are adjudicated delinquent and because of that the court may make them a ward. When a child is made a ward of the court it just means that the court now has the authority to control aspects of that childs life-requiring school attendance, attending counseling, performing public service etc.
The next thing is that a child is required to have an attorney, they cannot represent themselves, if you dont hire one, the court has to appoint an attorney. After the attorney is determined the case will either be plead (just like an adult plea agreement) or go to trial, or in some areas it is called an adjudicatory hearing. A child cannot get a jury trial, it will be in front of the judge. If the child is found guilty then, instead of sentencing like in adult court, there is a dispositional hearing which is the same theory, determining what parameters are put on the child during the duration of warship.
