OLR Report 2012-R-0289 explains the procedures in a juvenile delinquency case.
A child age 17 or under may be convicted as “delinquent” for violating most state or federal laws. The adjudication results from either the child's admission to allegations or the court's finding of guilt following a trial in juvenile court.
When a child is arrested for committing an alleged delinquent act, he or she may either be released or sent to detention. If sent to detention, the child has the right to a hearing on the next business day. A child may only be kept in detention after the hearing in limited circumstances. A child remanded to detention must have another hearing to re-evaluate the detention within 15 days.
A delinquency case may either be handled nonjudicially (outside of the courtroom) or judicially. In order to qualify for nonjudicial handling, among other things, the alleged act must not be a felony, the child must not have any previous delinquency convictions, and the child must admit to the allegations. At most, nonjudicial handling may result in probation for up to six months.
When a delinquency case is handled judicially, there is typically an initial plea hearing (arraignment), followed by a pretrial conference, and then either a trial or a plea canvass and dispositional hearing. If a child pleads guilty to a delinquent act or is found guilty as the result of a trial, he or she may be committed to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for up to 18 months (or up to four years for a serious juvenile offense).
When a child allegedly commits a felony, the case is either transferred to adult court automatically or may be transferred at the prosecutor's discretion, depending on the seriousness of the alleged act.
Typically, when a case is transferred to adult court, the child may be tried as a youthful offender (YO). Adjudication as a YO is not a criminal conviction, and thus the child can later truthfully deny having a criminal record based on the transferred charges. If the case does not qualify for YO handling, the case is transferred to the adult criminal docket. The child then stands trial and is sentenced, if convicted, as if he or she is an adult.
The law designates approximately 50 felonies, including murder, first- degree assault, and first degree burglary as serious juvenile offenses (SJOs). The penalties for SJO offenses are harsher than those for juvenile delinquency convictions and can result in up to four years in DCF commitment.
When a child reaches age 18, he or she may petition to have his or her police and juvenile court records erased. Provided the child meets certain criteria, the records are erased and, as a result, the child has no documented criminal history.
For more information, read the full report.
