Juvenile Delinquency Court Process
Once your child is charged with a law violation, he will be involved in the juvenile delinquency court process. The police department sends a referral to the juvenile court and then depending on the charge, his case may fall into one of a variety of process levels.
1st Level—Bailable Offense: This covers most youths under 16 for the following problems: most traffic offenses, park and recreation offenses, wildlife violation and other minor infractions.
2nd Level—Citation Diversion Unit: This level is for a youth’s first to third time at Juvenile Court and includes all other offenses that are a class B misdemeanor or lower. Your child will receive a date and time to appear in Juvenile Court from a police officer or a letter requiring his attendance at a class.
3rd Level—Preliminary Inquiry: These include all levels that are not covered by the Citation Diversion Unit, class B misdemeanor or higher. A probation officer will provide you and your child with a letter detailing the date and time of a meeting.
4th Level—Arraignment: Your child will be required to come to court for an arraignment for juvenile delinquency if he’s failed to attend his CDU or Preliminary Inquiry or if there’s been other non-compliance issues. The court will send a notice of hearing.
5th Level—Pretrial: A Pretrial hearing will be held if your child denies the charges or has an attorney.
6th Level—Trial: If you and your child meet with a deputy County Attorney concerning the case and cannot reach an agreement a trial will be held and your child will have the opportunity to call witnesses in his behalf. It would be prudent to have an attorney who is familiar with the law handle your child’s trial.
A parent or guardian is required to attend every part of a juvenile delinquency court proceeding, whether it is a meeting, trial or any other court-ordered event. Your attorney should also be present at any hearing, meeting, etc.
Take advantage of the opportunity to have an experienced Utah juvenile defense attorney take care of your child’s case. Any charges against a youth are worth the time spent consulting a juvenile defense attorney, and may mean the difference between detention or probation for certain offenses.
