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Juvenile Delinquency Cases

Juvenile delinquency cases are somewhat different than adult criminal cases.  Juvenile charges are brought against minors who are under the age of 18 years.  After a petition alleging a violation of criminal law has been filed against a minor, law enforcement are authorized to take minors into custody.

Once taken into custody, the minor must be presented before a judge within 48 hours so that a determination may be made whether the child needs to be detained in a secure detention facility or if home detention is appropriate.  If home detention is selected by the court, the juvenile and his/her parent must sign an agreement setting out rules for the home detention.  If the judge feels that the juvenile poses a threat of harm, then he or she may be kept in a secure detention facility until all court proceedings are completed.

Discovery, which is the process whereby the State provides information to the accused juvenile and the juvenile provides limited information to the State, then occurs.  Certain information is required to be disclosed to (shared with) the juvenile.  Depositions can also occur in some cases.

An arraignment is held at which time the juvenile may indicate the desire to enter a plea or can request a trial, which in juvenile cases is called an “adjudicatory hearing.” 

In some cases, a plan of treatment, training or conduct, may be agreed upon which outlines a proposed plan of treatment, training or conduct.  The agreement must be consented to by all parties [the child, his attorney, the State Attorney and the child’s parent(s), unless the Judge excuses the consent of the parent(s)]. If the Court approves the plan, then the plan of treatment is carried out and, if the child successfully completes the plan, the charges may be dismissed without an adjudicatory hearing.

If the adjudicatory hearing becomes necessary, it is carried out much like a regular criminal trial, except that it is before the judge only; there is no jury.  After the adjudicatory hearing, the judge decides whether or not the minor is delinquent (i.e. guilty of the charge) or is not delinquent (i.e. not guilty of the charge.  If the judge decides the child is delinquent, he or she will then sentence the child to a period of juvenile probation or a period of secure detention in a department of juvenile justice facility, or both.

In certain cases, the State Attorney may file a request that the Court waive jurisdiction and allow the case to be transferred to the appropriate court for determination of the charges as if the child were an adult.

For a consultation with an Orlando criminal juvenile lawyer at The Law Office of Orlando criminal attorney David C. Bibb, P.A. regarding any financial crime charges, call 407-843-8408. 

Practice areas include but are not limited to:  criminal DUI, Orlando traffic tickets, violent crimes, drug charges, white collar crime, Orlando business formation, contracts, business litigation, Orlando employment law, divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, division of marital property, modification to custody and support.

Our Law Offices are located at:

1802 North Alafaya Trail
Orlando, FL 32826

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