PHILADELPHIA JUVENILE CRIMES LAWYERS

If a child commits a crime and is arrested they are sent to the Juvenile Probation Office for an intake evaluation. There the child is evaluated along with the charges against them. The Juvenile Probation Officer and the Prosecutor make a determination of whether or not the child will go before a judge, or if the offense will be resolved outside the courtroom (1/3 of all juvenile cases are handled outside of the courtroom.

If the Juvenile Probation Officer and Prosecutor determine the charges against the child are serious enough, the case will be formally handled by the courts. If the offense the child is charged with is very serious or the court has reason to believe that the juvenile will not appear for their court date, the child will be detained and held in custody until the court date.

A juvenile being detained will meet periodically with the judge for a review, of the reasons for the detainment to determine if they are still valid. Under certain circumstances the child could qualify for house arrest and be monitored by use of an ankle device.

The trial process in juvenile courts is called Adjudication. A child found guilty of committing a crime is “adjudicated” instead of “convicted”. The adjudicatory hearing resembles a criminal trial in many ways and is where it is determined whether or not the juvenile will be classified as a delinquent.

If the child is adjudicated, the judge will determine the penalty to be imposed, which is referred to as “the disposition”. The disposition of the case will vary greatly depending upon many variables including;, the juvenile’s age and the nature and seriousness of the offense committed. If the offense committed is serious the juvenile could be sentenced to a period of incarceration in a detention center.