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Juvenile Defense Links:
Juvenile Defense
Taking the Long View
Glossary
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Adjudication:
In the context of the
juvenile justice system, an
adjudication is an order of the
court that a child has been
found to have committed a
delinquent act.
Adults who are found guilty of a
crime are convicted by the judge
or jury. Under the Children's
Code, the court does not
"convict" the child of a crime.
Rather, the court "adjudicates"
the child a juvenile delinquent
if he or she is found to have
committed an offense that would
be considered a crime if it were
committed by an adult.
Deferred Adjudication:
The judge can defer
adjudications and set the terms
and conditions of the deferment.
If the juvenile successfully
completes the terms of the
deferment, his or her admission
of guilt is withdrawn and the
original delinquency petition is
dismissed.
Diversion: A
community-based alternative to
the formal court system. Many
cities and counties offer
juveniles the opportunity to
avoid delinquency proceedings if
the child successfully completes
"Diversion" program.
In practical terms, Diversion
means that the district attorney
will drop the charges. If the
child completes the diversion
program, the charges will stay
dropped. If the child fails to
complete the program or gets
kicked out, the prosecution can
file the original charges again.
Diversion programs may include
classes, therapy, supervision,
and a variety of other
conditions, such as curfews,
random drug testing, and school
attendance. Programs differ
among the judicial districts.
The criteria for acceptance vary
in different judicial districts.
The prosecution may determine
that a juvenile is not an
appropriate candidate for
Diversion based upon his or her
history, the circumstances of an
alleged offense, or a variety of
other factors.
DYC: "DYC" refers to the
Department of Youth Corrections.
Informal Adjustment: The
prosecution may request that a
juvenile's matter be handled as
an informal adjustment at any
time before, during, or after
the filing of a delinquency
petition. The Children's Code
provides that the period of an
informal adjustment shall be no
longer than six months, but may
be extended for up to an
additional six months.
Magistrate: Magistrates
are judges with limited
authority in the juvenile
justice system. A party to a
case has a right to object to a
magistrate hearing a matter.
However, the magistrate may hear
a detention hearing, advisement,
and delinquency preliminary
hearing over the objection of
the party. Magistrates may not
hear jury trials or delinquency
transfer hearings.
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