Juvenile Law
Pleas & Plea Bargains
A plea is your child’s answer to the charge made against him/her.
• Your child can either admit or deny the charge.
• A plea takes place at the detention hearing or arraignment hearing.
• Denying the charge means the next hearing will be scheduled so your child’s case can proceed through the court process. Depending on your court’s local procedures, the next hearing will be either a pretrial hearing or an adjudication hearing (trial).
Plea Bargain
Agreement where the prosecutor, your child and your child’s attorney arrange to settle the case against your child. • Your child will agree to make an admission in exchange for some compromise such as reducing the original charge or charges, dismissing some of the charges, or agreeing to the disposition a court will likely impose on your child. • Allows the parties to agree on the legal matter before it goes before the judge, but there is no guarantee the court will follow the plea agreement.
Pretrial
The pretrial phase of the procedure takes place before the adjudication hearing. Depending on your jurisdiction’s procedure, your child’s case may or may not have a pretrial meeting or hearing. The purpose of the pretrial is to give the parties a chance to discuss the case and alternative methods of resolution.
Competency Evaluations
Your child’s attorney may decide to request a competency evaluation if the attorney has concerns about your child’s ability to assist them or to fully understand the court proceeding. Usually the court will ask a mental health professional to assess whether your child is capable of consulting with and assisting their attorney and whether your child understands the charges and court proceedings. The court hears evidence on your child’s mental, emotional, social, and intellectual capacities and determines whether your child is able to assist his/her lawyer in his/her defense at trial and understand the court proceedings.
Adjudicatory hearing
The adjudicatory hearing is to juveniles what trials are to adults. The adjudicatory hearing must be held within 15 days after the filing of the complaint if your child is detained. If your child is not detained, the hearing must be held within 60 days after the complaint was filed. This deadline may be extended under special circumstances or if your child’s attorney or the prosecutor moves for a continuance. At the adjudicatory hearing, your child will have the option of admitting that he/she committed the act that he/she has been charged with or contesting the charge by denying the charge. The judge or magistrate will decide if the juvenile committed the act for which he/she is charged. If the judge determines that your child did commit the act, the judge will set a date for a dispositional hearing. Your child may or may not be held in a detention center for the time period in between the adjudicatory hearing and the dispositional hearing. The judge will look at things like the seriousness of the offense committed, your child’s record, and your child’s living situation in determining where your child will stay while awaiting his dispositional hearing.
Dispositional hearing
The dispositional hearing is similar to sentencing for an adult. At the hearing, the judge will decide on your child’s sentence. Between the adjudication and the dispositional hearings, a probation officer may complete a pre-sentence or dispositional investigation. During this investigation the probation officer will learn more about your child and write a disposition recommendation for the judge. The judge should provide a written court order within seven days stating what the judge or magistrate’s decision is for your child.
Possible dispositions for your child for misdemeanor or felony offenses include:
• 90 days sentence to a detention facility;
• Reprimanding (The judge will speak to your child about their behavior);
• Unsupervised Probation;
• Supervised Probation, with a probation officer, terms, and conditions;
• Placement in a residential facility;
• Placement in a community program;
Possible Dispositions applying only for Felonies:
• Ordering a child to serve time in a community correction facility (CCF); or
• Committing a child to the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS)
There are eight DYS facilities where judges may send youth found responsible for delinquent acts that would have been considered a felony if they had been an adult.
Youth adjudicated with a felony offense are typically sent (committed) to DYS for a period of either six months to age twenty-one or twelve months to age twenty-one. However some offenses may call for higher minimums of one to three years. These sentences are indeterminate, meaning that your child may be held up to their twenty-first birthday.
Probation
If a judge determines that your child committed the act with which he/she is charged, the judge may decide to place your child on probation. This means that your child will be released back into the community or your home with certain conditions. The probation department should provide your child with written “terms” of what your child must do while on probation.