The majority of youths believe they are immune to criminal charges. They also believe they are above the law, which is false. When an underage person or minor, who for legal purposes is someone below the age of eighteen, breaks the law, they risk severe consequences that could be detrimental to their future. California's juvenile delinquency justice system is less punitive than the adult criminal court system because its primary objective is not to discipline young offenders but rather to rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. However, considering their age, particular repercussions are intolerable for the young criminal.

When your child has been arrested for a delinquent act, the harshest punishment for their delinquency is placement in the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). We help Fresno juvenile offenders arrested for crimes at California Criminal Lawyer Group. Therefore, we will protect your child's future from the adverse effects of DJJ commitment.

Juvenile Delinquency at a Glance

Anyone under eighteen is a child or minor. When these individuals violate the law, the trial procedures are distinct from those of adults.

In the delinquency court, when a child shoplifts, their action is considered a delinquency instead of a "crime," as it would be in courts handling adult cases. Juvenile delinquency refers to performing illegal conduct while underage or younger than 18. The court's main objective is not to punish the delinquent for wrongdoing. Instead, the judge's rehabilitative sentence or disposition is supposed to make the delinquent or minor a responsible citizen. Nevertheless, the sentence can adversely impact the minor's life.

A delinquent will still face charges in a children's court when they participate in a contrary act or crime, undiscovered until they are 20. The DA can also send the child's file to an adult criminal court, something you do not want for your child until they successfully defend themselves in a transfer proceeding. Whether or not the court transfers the delinquent to the adult court hinges on the intricacy of the case and any previous delinquency.

The court evaluates the proof presented in the proceeding for or against the juvenile's eligibility for children’s court adjudication. Per the Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) 707(b), a young youth who engages in any of the following infringements will not qualify for trial in a young offender's court:

  • Voluntary manslaughter.
  • Forcible sodomy.
  • Forcible or violent rape.
  • Carjacking.
  • Attempted homicide or murder.
  • Sexual penetration by force.
  • Kidnapping causing substantial bodily harm.
  • Armed robbery.
  • Murder.
  • Drive-by-shooting.

Placement in the delinquent's prison, or the DJJ, is your child's harshest disposition for participating in delinquency. DJJ rehabilitates delinquents depending on their age, education level, maturity, and rehabilitative needs.

Your child has a right to legal representation in court. The attorney will submit solid proof to persuade the court not to uphold the charges or petition against the delinquent. So, you want to hire the best legal counsel for your child to guide them through the process and prevent a sustained petition. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we understand the juvenile court system and procedures, which makes us the most suitable to protect the minor's future.

Dealing with Juvenile Delinquency Cases

Based on the seriousness of the juvenile's violation and other applicable factors, the apprehending officers can opt to refer the issue to the children's court when a youngster is apprehended for any form of delinquent conduct.

To deter your child from giving the officers any incriminating statements or information, you should remind them of their legal rights when they contact you, informing you of their apprehension for engaging in delinquency. Your child must safeguard their rights during apprehension for criminal conduct. The aspects your child should remember are:

  • They have a right to hire legal counsel.
  • They should not resist arrest.
  • They are free to refuse to answer the questions by the police politely.
  • They should not discuss the issue leading to apprehension with anybody else other than their lawyer.
  • If they are not under arrest, they can resist any unauthorized search.

The delinquent must know they enjoy the same rights as adults, despite being underage, to prevent inadvertently implicating themselves. So, your child should keep their cool and limit their words when under investigation or after arrest for participating in delinquent conduct because the DA will use what the child says to build their case.

The apprehending officer must also recite the minor's Miranda rights during arrest, just like they do for adults, for your child to safeguard their interests and constitutional rights in the wake of the allegations.

California statutes allow apprehending authorities to interrogate your child in your absence or that of their lawyer. So, the juvenile must make the proper judgment in the presence or absence of the parents or lawyer to prevent any potential repercussions from a juvenile offense. 

An arrest by the authorities for suspected delinquent conduct does not always end up in juvenile court. The apprehending officer can opt to take any of the following actions, subject to the sternness of the suspected delinquency:

  • Before discharging your child, hold them in their custody and warn of the disabilities linked to delinquency.
  • Keep you in custody until you, the delinquent's parent, arrive, after which the minor is released.
  • Arrest the minor and forward their file to the juvenile court.

When the arresting law enforcement sends your child's file to the relevant court, the judge assigns the child a probation officer (PO) who reviews the file and chooses to:

  • Drop the allegations or counts.
  • Manage the case outside court for a casual judgment.
  • File an official petition or charge.

The result of an out-of-court settlement of the case is less stringent than where a formal petition is involved. It would help if you talked to your lawyer to persuade the PO to handle the matter informally, as it is less vigorous than conventional adjudication. At the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we will endeavor to defend your child's mistakes even if the case reaches the young offender's court to avoid the repercussions of DJJ center commitment.

The Juvenile Justice System Proceedings before Commitment to a DJJ or Juvenile Prison

Should the court-appointed PO opt to file a formal petition against your child for delinquency, the violation in question should be severe. Therefore, you must find the minor an experienced juvenile delinquency lawyer for quality legal representation and better chances of a favorable ruling. The children's court system is complex, so you do not want to handle the process without the help of a lawyer familiar with the court processes.

For your child, the worst disposition the court can impose is the commitment to a prison for juveniles, otherwise called the DJJ. However, before this decision, your child goes through various hearings as part of the court procedures before the disposition. Among these hearings are:

  1. Detention Proceeding

The detention hearing is the first court appearance the child will make after they have been apprehended and placed in police custody. In the hearing, the court can decide whether the juvenile must stay in detention or go home pending a case determination. Therefore, when the apprehending officer opts to detain the child, they must request a detention proceeding within two days. The hearing is necessary because this system has no bail, meaning your child can only leave once they appear in court.

Taking your child home after the hearing hinges on the PO's report. The best way to reunite with your child is to hire a competent lawyer to persuade the court to discharge the delinquent pending petition adjudication and disposition instead of the minor remaining in a detention hall pending case determination. Even if the court chooses to release the minor to your care pending case adjudication, they will remain a ward of the court until a verdict is issued.

The court will explain the minor's rights and the formal accusations against them during the hearing. After that, the offender will take a plea. They can plead guilty, not guilty, or deny the allegations based on insanity.

Similarly, the court decides what will happen to the minor at this hearing. The minor will be detained in a juvenile facility if:

  • The juvenile is a flight risk and is likely to skip town pending scheduled hearings.
  • The minor threatens their safety and the safety of the public.
  • The juvenile has a record of missing scheduled court proceedings.

If the detention hearing's outcome is not in your child's favor, the delinquent will remain in the detention hall until the next court appearance. Nevertheless, when the court rules in the child’s favor, you will return home with them until the next court appearance. So, a lawyer is paramount in this hearing to compel the presiding judge to discharge the delinquent.

  1. Pretrial Proceeding

Your child's case must go through the pretrial stage before the next hearing. The pretrial proceeding typically happens within fifteen days of the detention proceeding if the minor is detained. The pretrial proceeding for those released pending case determination happens in as little as 30 days. In some cases, it is even necessary to hold several pretrial hearings. The presiding judge will inform you whether additional hearings will be required.

  1. Fitness or Transfer Proceeding

When your child is detained in a facility because of specific crimes that can be tried in an adult criminal court, the DA will request fitness or a transfer hearing. The purpose of the proceeding is to determine whether the crime should be adjudicated in the juvenile or children's court or transferred to the adult court.

Many crimes perpetrated by children are adjudicated in juvenile courts. However, if the offense is prescribed under WIC (707b), the case will be an excellent match for the adult court.

A youngster's proceedings in adult court attract possible long-term consequences. Therefore, you should protect your child's future by partnering with an experienced lawyer to compel the court to try the child in court for underage people.

The same offenses that are eligible for transfer in the adult court system are the ones for which a sustained petition leads to commitment to a DJJ institution or other more lenient dispositions available in the juvenile delinquency court system. However, it is the lawyer's responsibility to prove to the judge that the delinquent will benefit the most if the petition is adjudicated in the juvenile system and not the adult court.

When deciding whether to transfer the juvenile to the adult court or continue the petition in the children's court, the presiding judge considers several facts. These include:

  • The minor's age.
  • The severity and complexity of the delinquent's transgression.
  • Whether the child will gain from the system, which is centered on rehabilitation.
  • History of the child's delinquency.
  • Whether previous attempts by the system to reeducate the juvenile were successful.

If the judge is convinced the delinquent should face justice in the children's court, the case will continue to the subsequent adjudication or trial hearing.

  1. Adjudication Hearing

Juvenile delinquency adjudication or jurisdiction hearings are presided over by a judge, not the jury. The trial aims to establish whether the juvenile engaged in the alleged crime. Your child's lawyer must present compelling evidence to convince the court beyond moral certainty that the juvenile did not engage in the crime.

Should the court rule that your child's petition is valid, the petition against the juvenile will be sustained, meaning that the minor is guilty. Conversely, the court will not uphold the petition when the judge determines that the evidence against the child is insufficient to convict them of the alleged delinquency.

The jurisdiction proceeding presents your child with the chance to contest the allegations against them with the assistance of a lawyer to have the charges reduced or thrown out. If the juvenile is in a juvenile detention facility, adjudication happens within 15 work days. When the minor is out of police custody, they could wait a long time for the hearing.

If the court upholds the child's petition after both sides present their evidence and arguments, the matter will move to the next phase: disposition.

Disposition Proceeding

The disposition hearing, also known as sentencing in the adult court, comes after adjudication and is the last procedure your child undergoes in the juvenile delinquency court. Regretfully, if the court's decision is unfavorable to your child, they must attend the disposition proceeding.

The presiding judge rules on the appropriate disposition for the child's violation depending on their age, delinquency history, and the case's circumstances.   

Typically, the hearing happens immediately after disposition if the presiding judge has all the facts necessary to issue a sentence. The judge has multiple disposition or sentencing options upon a upheld petition. However, unlike in adult courts, where the sentence aims at punishing, the disposition imposed in the hearing intends to rehabilitate the minor into a responsible and law-abiding citizen. Your child’s lawyer should be present at the hearing to present mitigating factors to compel the court not to commit the juvenile to DJJ or prison for children.

The repercussions of placement in a children's prison can be detrimental to the underage because the effects are the same as those of adult prisons. Therefore, having an experienced lawyer present for the hearing to negotiate a favorable verdict, like probation, will help protect your child's future.

Repercussions of Commitment to a California DJJ Facility

Formerly called the California Youth Authority (CYA), the DJJ facility is a prison for delinquents that helps rehabilitate young offenders with sustained petitions for misdemeanors or felonies. The sentencing is the closest punishment to incarceration in an adult jail or prison your child case faces in the juvenile delinquency court.

The goal of a DJJ is not to discipline the delinquent, unlike in an adult criminal court. Instead, the presiding judge places your child in the facility to restore or reintegrate the child into the community and train and develop the youngster.

The judge orders a ninety-day diagnostic evaluation of your child before committing them to a DJJ center. The diagnostic assessment helps the judge determine the most appropriate rehabilitation programs contingent on the delinquent's transgression.

A juvenile committed to a DJJ center must make extensive and severe commitments. Any delinquent in the facility should attend school full-time. Once they complete high school, they must enroll in an institution of higher learning, like a college or vocational institute. After studies, the underage person can land a job cutting grass, cleaning, and preparing food at the DJJ institution.

Apart from these primary programs, the minor will undergo several other rehabilitation programs tailored to meet their unique needs:

  • Rigorous behavior training.
  • Sexual conduct treatment.
  • Mental well-being residential units.

The commitment duration in the institution is the number of years an adult spends in prison or jail for the same offense. The judge determines the most appropriate confinement duration based on the severity of the child's delinquent behavior and history. Your child can only discharge the sentence for the sustained petition under WIC 707(b) after 24 months or when they turn 23.

For instance, when the minor's conduct attracts at least seven years of incarceration under the adult criminal court, and the delinquency is not prescribed in WIC 707(b), the delinquent should be released from confinement after 24 months or at 25, whichever comes later.

Your child will be discharged from the commitment if the court determines their sentence is less than ninety days. Besides, the delinquent must be 11 or older to be committed to juvenile prison. However, when the juvenile cannot complete their time in the facility before they turn 25, the court transfers them to adult prison once they turn eighteen.

Even though the DJJ institution helps rehabilitate delinquents, you do not wish it on your child, who still has a lot to learn. Confinement in the institution, even for 24 months alone, is sufficient to adversely impact a minor’s future because they interact with other delinquents who have committed more severe crimes. The child could borrow some of the destructive behaviors from the other young offenders. Also, the delinquent’s ability to enroll in college or secure employment dramatically diminishes. 

Therefore, whenever you receive a phone call informing you of the minor’s apprehension for delinquency, you should contact a profound lawyer immediately, as their future is on the line.

You should know that the court can modify your child’s placement in juvenile prison or any other imposed disposition if they feel it is not tailored to meet the delinquent’s needs based on the underlying crime. So, when you think that DJJ institution confinement will not benefit your child, you can talk to your lawyer to bring a resentencing petition with the relevant court.

Lifetime Disabilities of Juvenile Adjudication

Also called a trial, adjudication can have lifelong consequences for your child, even after they complete their DJJ obligations. So, your child’s lawyer must contest the petition aggressively during adjudication.

An upheld petition for a sexual offense can make the child obligated to enlist as a sex predator. The social stigma and collateral consequences of the registration obligation are life-altering. The young criminal must notify the relevant authorities of any movements or changes in location. Again, obtaining a job or renting an apartment will be challenging because of the criminal record.

Therefore, right after the child completes their confinement, you should begin the record-sealing process by filing a petition in court. Sealing the records gives the juvenile a clean start, and their childhood mistakes will not have to haunt them in adulthood. Whether the court grants the petition to seal the records depends on the duration after the disposition, the child’s crime, and their criminal record after the previous disposition.

Find a Competent Juvenile Delinquency Lawyer Near Me

Your child’s future could be in jeopardy if they face accusations of engaging in a delinquent act. If your child faces the allegations, the California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno can evaluate the file and talk with the prosecutor about having the child face any other disposition apart from confinement in a DJJ facility. Call us at 559-712-8377 for a no-obligation consultation.