What Happens if I am Charged with a Juvenile Offense?
Contents
Juvenile Offenses are not Crimes!
If you are under 18 and break the law, you will be charged with a juvenile offense. It is not a crime.
Your case will be handled by the Juvenile System, including Juvenile Corrections and Juvenile Court.
This is true even if you are emancipated.
Exception: When it is a Crime
A juvenile can be charged with a crime if, after a full hearing, the juvenile case is transferred to
adult court. This is called a "bind-over" proceeding. The District Attorney may ask for a bind-over
if you are charged with a serious crime (a felony that involves violence or weapons).
A Juvenile Case starts with...
- service of a summons, or
- an arrest
A Summons
A Summons is a piece of paper that tells you to come to Court. It has:
- the charge you are being accused of
- the time and date to come to Court
- the Court location
The police will serve a Summons if the State thinks that you have committed an offense.
A Summons is not an arrest.
You will not be taken into custody. But you must sign the Summons. You must go to Court when the
Summons tells you to or else a bench warrant will issue
for your arrest.
An Arrest
An arrest is being:
- put in custody by the police and
- brought to a detention facility
If you are arrested, a police officer or Juvenile Community Corrections Officer
(probation officer) must contact
one of your parents or your legal guardian and tell them where you are.
Police Questioning
Before questioning you, a police officer must try to contact your parents or legal guardian. If they ask,
you must tell the police your real name and address. You do not have to tell them any thing else.
If you ask for a lawyer, the police have to stop questioning you.
Asking for a lawyer
You have a right to a lawyer, and it is
important to ask for one. If you do not ask for
one, your parents can ask for you. Asking for a lawyer does not mean that you think you are guilty. A lawyer
can advise you on what you should or should
not answer. When the police question you,
they do not have to tell the truth. They are
trained to use interrogation techniques, such
as making up facts or evidence that can be
used against you. A lawyer can help you.
How to Get a Lawyer
You have a right to a lawyer at every part of the process. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court
can appoint one for you. This will happen if:
- you ask the Court for a lawyer, and
- you and your parents meet with a “financial screener,” and
- the financial screener finds that you cannot afford a lawyer
Court appointed lawyers are at no cost to you or your parents. You can ask the Court for a lawyer
at your initial appearance.
If you are eligible for a free lawyer, the Court will mail you
the name of the lawyer who
has been appointed to your case.
If you want a lawyer before your “initial appearance” in Court, like when you are being
questioned by the police,
it is up to you or your parents to find a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, when you call him,
find out if he will agree to
be Court appointed. If he agrees, he can then ask the Court to appoint him. Even if he does this,
you still have to meet with the
financial screener.
Juvenile Community Corrections Officers (JCCO)
The JCCO is the “probation officer” or “juvenile intake officer.” A JCCO
is assigned to every
juvenile who is charged with an offense as soon as he is charged. To find out who your JCCO is, you
can call:
| Region 1 (Portland area) |
822-2850 |
| Region 2 (Auburn area) |
783-5383 |
| Region 3 (Augusta area) |
287-5276 |
| Region 4 (Bangor North) |
941-3130 |
| Central Office |
287-4362 |
A lot of power is given to JCCO’s. Because of that, it is important to develop a good
relationship with your JCCO.
Informal Adjustment
An “informal adjustment” is often the best way to resolve your case.
You should make a point of asking your JCCO about it.
With an informal adjustment
- you agree to follow certain conditions, and
- your case may never go to Court.
The first step toward getting an “informal adjustment” is scheduling a meeting with
your JCCO and your
parents. You should have this meeting before you go to Court. You can call your JCCO to schedule the
meeting if you have
not heard from him.
What you say in this meeting cannot be used against you later. This is because, as part of this
process:
- you have to admit what you did and
- explain what happened.
After meeting with you and your parents, your JCCO will decide if he thinks it is better to have you meet
certain conditions instead of going to Court. The conditions are decided by your JCCO. They can
include community
service, restitution, and victim-offender mediation. If you agree to these terms and follow them, then your case does
not go to Court.
This out-of-court decision is called an “informal adjustment.”
Your Parents
One of your parents or your legal guardian must attend all court proceedings in your juvenile case.
If there are good reasons why a parent cannot attend, tell the Judge as soon as possible.
After Arrest
Four things can happen after being arrested:
- you are released from custody
- you do not have to follow any conditions
- you have to promise to come to court on your scheduled date
- Conditional Release to your home
- you must live at home
- you must follow the conditions imposed on you until your Court date
- if you do not follow the rules, you can be arrested or detained
- Conditional Release to placement
- you are released to a facility
(a group home, emergency shelter, or foster care) until your court date
- you must follow the conditions imposed on you until your Court date
- if you do not follow the rules, you can be arrested or detained
- you are placed in one of two juvenile detention facilities in Maine (Mountain
View Youth Development Center in Charleston
or Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland).
- Juveniles should never be housed with adults.
Detention Hearing
If you are detained in a detention facility, you must have a court hearing within 48 hours.
This does
not include weekends and holidays. At that hearing, the judge will decide if you should stay
in the detention facility until
your trial date, or if you can be released (either conditionally or unconditionally) until then.
If you are detained, you are
often referred to in your detention facility as a “hold for Court.”
The court should appoint a lawyer to represent you at the detention hearing if you cannot afford
one. It is important to
have a lawyer at this hearing; the Judge will be deciding if you should remain in a juvenile
detention facility. Ask the Court
to appoint you the same lawyer for both your detention hearing and for the remainder of your
case. Then you will not have to start
in with a new lawyer later on.
Initial Court Appearance
Unless you had a detention hearing, this is your first appearance in Court. (If you settled
on an
“informal
adjustment” with the JCCO and you followed all the conditions, then you will not reach this stage.)
At the initial appearance,
- you ask for a lawyer to be appointed to you if you do not already have
one
- the charge against you will be read aloud and
- you admit or deny the charge.
Remember: Talk to an attorney before you do this!
There will be a lawyer of the day at Court. This lawyer is there to talk to everyone who is charged with a
juvenile offense who does not have an attorney. The lawyer will talk to you for free and will advise you of
your rights.
Anything you tell the lawyer is confidential. Talk to the lawyer of the day before you talk to the District
Attorney.
Anything you tell the District Attorney can be used against you. Talk to the lawyer of the day before you
admit or deny the charge
in Court. After talking to you, the lawyer of the day may help you settle your case. If you deny the charge, and you
want a lawyer,
you have to ask the Court to appoint a lawyer to you. Unless you ask the Court to appoint the lawyer of
the day to your entire
case, he does not represent you after you leave Court that day.
If you admit to the charge, you have been “adjudicated,” and the Court will move
to the “disposition” (see below).
If you deny the charge, make sure that you meet with your lawyer as soon as possible.
Do not wait for your lawyer to call you. If you deny the charge, the Court will schedule a "first hearing,"
which is basically a negotiation day, before your trial. At a "first hearing" there will not be a trial,
so you do not need to bring witnesses. You lawyer does not have to go to the first hearing, but it is a good
idea if he does. Ask your lawyer to go to this hearing with you. This is a good time to bring in proof of
counseling, community service, good performance at school, etc. This will help your lawyer negotiate a better
disposition for you. If your case does not settle at the "first hearing,"
a hearing, which is your trial date, will be scheduled.
Case Filings
After your initial appearance, your case may be “filed.” This is another type of
“informal adjustment.” Everything in your case is put on hold. You will be given conditions to
follow for a
period of time, usually one year. One condition will always be to not get in trouble of any kind with the
police. Other
conditions may be going to school, doing community service, paying restitution, not having contact with
certain people, and
counseling. If you follow all the conditions for the specified time period, your case will then be
dismissed (like it never happened).
Adjudication
You are adjudicated if:
- you formally “admit” to the juvenile offense in Court, or
- you are found, after a hearing by the Judge, to have committed the offense
An adjudication is not a conviction. Often forms, such as job, housing and college applications, ask
you to check a
box if you have ever been convicted of a crime. Even if you have been “adjudicated” of a
juvenile offense, the correct
answer to this question is “No”.
The Adjudication Hearing
Most cases settle and never go to hearing. But if you deny the charge and have a hearing, the State must
prove that you
committed the offense. You have a right to defend yourself and have a lawyer represent you. There is no jury,
just a Judge.
If the Judge finds you that you committed the offense, then you are “adjudged” guilty. Your case
will then move on to a
“dispositional” hearing. The dispositional hearing may be on a different day from your
adjudication hearing.
Disposition Hearing
Instead of getting sentenced, you receive a “disposition.” The primary purpose of the disposition is to rehabilitate you.
The Court can order the terms of the disposition, but most dispositions are agreed to without a hearing. It is very important
that you have a lawyer represent you in the negotiations for your disposition.
For a dispositional hearing, your JCCO should prepare a report with recommendations. This doesn’t always happen,
but you or your lawyer can ask your JCCO what he thinks should happen to you. The State, through the District Attorney, will also make
recommendations to the Court. You also have a right to argue for a specific disposition, and you can introduce evidence
(school records, counselor statement, family testimony, etc.) to support your position. The Court may order that you complete a
psychological evaluation before making a decision on what your disposition should be. After the Judge hears all the evidence,
he will decide. His decision is based on what is best for you and the public.
Even if you have an agreement with the State, the Judge will still review it to make sure that your interests and the
public’s interests are protected.
Dispositions can be:
- Participation in treatment services (this can range from a few counseling sessions to months away at a
residential treatment center)
- Community Service
- Supervised Work
- Restitution
- Department of Health and Human Services custody
- Indeterminate Commitment to a Department of Corrections juvenile facility (Long Creek Youth Development
Center or Mountain View Youth
Development Center)
- Short-term or shock sentence (anywhere from 1 - 30 days)
- Payment of a fine (rare)
- A “suspended” sentence to a detention facility with probation.
The most common disposition is a “suspended” sentence with probation. This means that your are not sent to a
detention facility unless you break your conditions of probation. If you are sent to the detention facility, you will stay there
for the amount of time you were originally committed for.
If your disposition includes a detention center placement, try to get sent there for a specific number of days, rather
than a “commitment.” A commitment is usually much longer. When you are committed, you have to stay at a detention
facility until you turn a certain age, like 18. Depending upon how old you are, this is probably much longer than, say, a 30-day
sentence. You may also get an “indeterminate commitment.” This means you are sent to a detention
facility for a longer period of time - until a specific date, like your 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st birthday.
If you are sentenced for an indeterminate period, you may get out of the facility before the final date if you
complete the treatment program. The treatment program will include counseling, behavior modification and
education programs.
Aftercare
If you finish the detention facility’s program and are released, you are still under the supervision of the
detention center. So, if you violate the rules they give you when you are released, you can be sent back there without a
trial. You will have to redo the program, and you may have to stay there until you reach the age of your original commitment.
This means that you can be recommitted for minor things, like not living where they tell you to, not reporting to your JCCO, or
testing positive for alcohol or drugs.
For more information, contact a private attorney who handles juvenile defense matters.
This publication was supported by grant #2004-JL-FX-0029 from the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions
or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect
the views of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice.
Last update: June 2005