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In an effort to allow the public to better understand the court system, the Herald/Review is publishing columns written by Cochise County Superior Court judges the fourth Sunday of each month. Today’s column, written by Judge Ann Littrell, is the first of that effort.
The Juvenile Court is that part of the state Superior Court assigned to handle cases involving children under the ages of 18 who are alleged to be delinquent, incorrigible or dependent.
The Juvenile Court also has exclusive jurisdiction over matters such as adoptions, actions to terminate parental rights and emancipation petitions.
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Juvenile Court orders take precedence over most other state court orders. However, with the exception of orders creating restitution liens, establishing paternity, terminating parental rights or granting adoptions, most Juvenile Court orders expire when the case closes.
History of juvenile courts
The first juvenile court in the nation was established in Illinois in 1899. Prior to that, children were tried in adult court and could be sentenced either to adult prisons or children’s institutions that were prisons in all but name.
Under the juvenile court system, the court’s focus changed from retribution to rehabilitation. Children who broke the law and children who were neglected could be placed or probation or in reform schools, but not tried or imprisoned with adult criminals.
Although the early juvenile courts were well intentioned, absolute adherence to the doctrine of “parens patriae” (state as parent) led the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966 to question whether the actual performance of the juvenile courts measured up to their theoretical purpose or only gave delinquent children the “worst of both worlds: … neither the protections accorded to adults nor the solicitous care and regenerative treatment postulated for children.” Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541, 555-56 (1966).
The Kent court held that juveniles are entitled to notice and a hearing before their cases can be transferred to adult court. In 1967, the court decided In re Gault, a landmark decision holding that juveniles in delinquency cases have the rights to be notified of the charges against them, to be represented by counsel at the state’s expense, to confront and cross-examine witnesses and to remain silent.
Subsequent Supreme Court cases established that juveniles in delinquency cases also have the right to have charges proven beyond a reasonable doubt and the right not to be subject to double jeopardy, but not the right to a jury trial.
The Cochise County Juvenile Court
Like other juvenile courts, the Cochise County Juvenile Court handles two primary types of cases: delinquency cases involving allegations of wrongdoing by the juvenile and dependency cases involving allegations that a parent or guardian is not willing or able to provide proper and effective parental care because of abuse, neglect, drug use, etc.
Dependencies and delinquencies differ from each other both substantively and procedurally. As a result, attorneys rarely practice in both areas of law.
Delinquency and incorrigibility cases take up about half of the Cochise County Juvenile Court calendar. These cases mirror criminal cases in many respects and provide juveniles many of the same due process rights as those afforded an adult defendant. However, juvenile cases are tried to a judge, not a jury, and are heard on a much faster track.
A juvenile delinquent is someone between the ages of 8 and 18 who commits an act that would be charged as a crime if committed by an adult. A juvenile who is 15 or older will be tried in adult court if arrested for a third felony or an especially serious crime such as murder or forcible sexual assault. A 14-year-old facing a third felony may be tried as an adult if the county attorney believes that is necessary to protect the public. Other juveniles may be tried as adults only if the Juvenile Court judge determines that is necessary in order to protect the community.
An incorrigible child is one who uses tobacco, violates curfew, runs away from home, ditches school or habitually refuses to obey a parent or guardian. To the extent these offenses involve actions that are illegal only because of the child’s age, they are often referred to as “status” offenses.
Children younger than 8 are deemed to lack the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their acts and are not subject to delinquency proceedings.
Dependency proceedings
The other half of the Juvenile Court calendar is taken up primarily by dependency cases and petitions to terminate parental rights.
A “dependent child” is a person younger than 18 who has no parent or guardian willing or capable of providing proper and effective care and control, who is not provided with the necessities of life such as adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care, or whose home is “unfit” by reason of abuse, neglect, cruelty or depravity by a parent, guardian or other person having care or custody of the child.
Although most dependency petitions are filed by Child Protective Services, any interested party may file a dependency petition on behalf of a neglected or dependent child.
Each parent in a dependency action is entitled to an attorney and children are entitled to have their interests represented by an attorney or a specially trained volunteer known as a “CASA” (Court Appointed Special Advocate).
Children may be removed from their homes and placed with relatives or in foster care while a dependency action is pending. At present, there are approximately 260 Cochise County children in foster care.
In future articles, I will discuss in greater detail how delinquency and dependency cases are handled, the numbers and types of cases handled in the Juvenile Court last year, the impact methamphetamines are having on juvenile cases being filed, and what the court is doing to rehabilitate and protect children and families.
ANN LITTRELL is the Cochise County Juvenile Court judge. She began her current term in January 2005.
Bill Stein wrote on Nov 22, 2008 7:45 PM: