What is a Petition in Juvenile Court?
Petition: The document that is the basis for the juvenile court case. A written statement of the charges against the juvenile. Just as in a criminal prosecution in adult court, the petition (sometimes called a "charge," "complaint," "information" or "bill of information") sets forth the allegations that form the legal basis for the case.
The Petition is very important because it is the only way (other than a waiver of counsel) that an adult can plead guilty for a juvenile. There are no guilty pleas in juvenile court for juveniles. The juvenile court processes do not involve choosing between a guilty and not guilty verdict . Since the juvenile functions are civil (rather than criminal) proceedings, there is no option for a guilty plea. The juvenile can submit a written admission or "admit," as the language is used in juvenile court, to the allegations in the petition.
This written admission of guilt will result in a finding of "adjudicated delinquent," which is the equivalent of being found guilty in adult court. The juvenile must be represented by a lawyer to submit a written admission. If the juvenile is not represented by an attorney, then either the case must be dismissed, or another hearing must be held.
Different Types of Petitions in Juvenile Court
The filing of a petition in Juvenile Court is the first step that must be taken, before further proceedings can take place. This is the document that initiates the formal judicial process and lodges the specific allegations that are to be addressed. These pleadings are not unlike a complaint in an adult civil or criminal case.
A delinquency petition alleges that a juvenile is guilty of an offense under Pennsylvania’s Crimes Code or some other criminal statute. The juvenile who is the subject of such a petition is referred to as a "delinquent child".
On the other hand, a dependency petition seeks to have the Court declare that a child is or is at risk of becoming (i.e., is reasonably likely to become) dependent, due to the incapacity or failure of the child’s parents or guardian, or the death of one or both of the child’s parents. A child who is adjudicated a "dependent child" is not a delinquent child.
Other types of petitions are submitted for the purpose of seeking a Court Order that will have an impact on the child or his/her family.
The Court may be asked to approve, or disapprove, a disposition of a detention matter, a Consent Decree or an informal adjustment. It may also be asked to appoint a master or probation officer to conduct a hearing to approve, or disapprove, informal adjustments. Each of these petitions has a distinct purpose.
The law does not permit a juvenile dependency petition and a delinquency petition to be filed at the same time, though it may be appropriate (or necessary) for one or both of them to be filed either before, or after, a dependency petition is already filed.
How to File a Petition in Juvenile Court
Filing a petition in juvenile court begins with a request: a request for a hearing. Occasionally a party requests a hearing to present a claim that the juvenile is dependent and neglected or is delinquent. However, most petitions seeking adjudication are filed by the Department of Social Services (DSS). Whether by motion or by petition, the Court is obligated to schedule a hearing to provide the parties with their right to appear and defend and, where applicable, the opportunity to present information to the Court as to the welfare of the juveniles involved in the action.
If DSS generated the original petition, it is possible that DSS has already spoken to the Court before it sent the petition to be filed. If so, the Court already knows about the case and may be aware of a scheduled hearing. Even if this is not the case, an initial inquiry to the Court can usually winnow out whether a hearing date has been set.
The Court has discretion as to whether to hold a judicial hearing on a petition. However, in all situations the party requesting a hearing by petition or motion has a right to present the opportunity to preserve an issue on appeal. A petitioner properly requests a hearing when it serves the appropriate motion or petition prior to the juvenile admitting to the allegations. Once a admission has occurred, appellate review of the issues is limited to plain error review unless the petition is dismissed or the hearing was pursuant to an equitable distribution action.
What to Expect in the Juvenile Court Petition Process
Upon a petition being filed the court clerk will set up a scheduled date for hearings. These are called "setting dates." The setting dates will be sent to all the parties and the court’s website will show the upcoming dates.
Setting Date 1 – Shelter Hearing:
At the first setting date a shelter hearing will be held in some circumstances. A shelter hearing is held if the child is not with his or her parents and is in anyones custody, but there is uncertainty about who the child was given into the custody of. In most cases, protective custody statements from DCF will provide the necessary grounds for the initial shelter, and the court will not hold a shelter hearing. Parents have a right to appeal the shelter. If there is a shelter hearing, it is usually short, and temporary custody of the child will be given to DCF until the following setting date.
Setting Date 2 – Arraignment Hearing:
At the next setting date, the attorney for the child, the person who is alleged to have abused or neglected the child, or the foster parent of the child, will be present in court. An arraignment hearing will then be held. At the arraignment hearing both parents will be asked to enter a plea of guilty, or not guilty. If the plea is guilty, then parents will be presented with a case plan. If the parent pleads not guilty, a third setting date will be set. An arraignment does not conclude family services.
Setting Date 3 – Pre-Trial Hearing:
A pre-trial hearing will be set for the third setting date. At the pre-trial hearing attorneys for the parents and attorneys for the state will attempt to come to an agreement on a resolution. After the hearing has taken place, the judge will then make a final decision about the mediation.
Later Setting Dates:
Additional setting dates may then be set out to three months. These dates can be used for status conferences, mediation attempts, or placing the child with the foster family through DCF. After placing the child with the foster family, the next court date will determine whether DCF will continue the foster family relationship, or whether another family will be used. The Judge has to determine what is in the best interest of the child.
The Juvenile’s Rights in Juvenile Court Petition Process
The juvenile, referred to as the respondent in a family division petition, must be afforded the rights guaranteed to all individuals under the law, including the rights to notice, a fair hearing and legal counsel.
Notice
The respondent has the right to receive a copy of the petition with a notice of the date, time, court and reason for the hearing. The notice shall be in a language that the respondent understands if it can reasonably be expected that the respondent will understand the notice in that language. If a respondent cannot be served with the notice, the petitioner has the option to serve notice on a parent, guardian or custodian. Generally, service is done by a sheriff, constable or private process server. The respondent is presumed to be a resident of the Commonwealth for the purpose of receiving notice. Service must be considered sufficient if it was addressed to the respondent and sent to the respondent’s last known address . If notice is not personally served, a copy of the petition and notice must also be sent to the respondent’s right to counsel.
Right to Counsel
Any juvenile who is the subject of an involuntary termination of parental rights petition has the right to counsel. The services of counsel are afforded from the time of the filing of the petition. The public shall be represented at the hearing by counsel. If the juvenile is indigent, the court will appoint counsel to represent the juvenile at the government’s expense.
Fair Hearing
In addition to these rights, during trial, the respondent has the right to be heard in the presentation of his defense. An opportunity for presenting witnesses and cross-examining witnesses is also guaranteed to the respondent, in addition to the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof being on the petitioner.
Potential Outcomes of a Juvenile Court Petition
There are several potential outcomes of a petition in juvenile court, depending (e.g.) on how severe the allegations are. The juvenile court may: dismiss the petition, issue probation, require the juvenile to go to an out-of-home placement, or even close the case. Alternatively, if there is a serious allegation, there may be a trial in juvenile court, or the matter may be transferred to adult court.
Dismissal
If the case is dismissed, the juvenile is no longer on probation or required to go to an out-of-home placement, but remember that the case is still in the juvenile court system unless the juvenile court issues a complete dismissal. This means that the minor still has a "disposition" on his or her record. Dismissals do not destroy the disposition.
Probation
The minor could be put on probation. This means that the juvenile court will continue to monitor the conduct of the minor, and subpoena the minor to juvenile court hearings if there are any violations of the minor’s probation. Violation of the terms of probation could lead to placement in an out-of-home facility, or other penalties.
Placement
In some cases, the juvenile court will place the minor in an out-of-home facility. There are several facilities, including residential treatment facilities, group homes, emergency shelters, and Foster Homes. These placements do not occur in all felony cases. The placement type depends on the severity of the allegation.
Transfer to Adult Court
The juvenile court system could also send the minor case to the district court. If this occurs, the minor will be tried as an adult. Where felonies, specifically, are at issue, Juvenile Courts have jurisdiction unless, and until, the juvenile court "waives jurisdiction." Waiver jurisdiction is a complicated topic beyond the scope of this blog.
The Long-Term Effects of Juvenile Court Petitions
Contrary to Popular Belief, a Petition in Juvenile Court can Have Serious Long Term Ramifications in a Child’s Life
Often times, the filing of a juvenile court petition is viewed by parents and juveniles as something relatively inconsequential. After all, when the petition is dismissed or there is a finding of "not delinquent" (i.e., not guilty), the vast majority of individuals do not further pursue the matter and instead simply move on with their lives. The issue with this mentality is that not all decisions are in fact dismissed or found not delinquent. Such dispositions can have serious long term consequences for young people by limiting their opportunities in the future. A recent admissions question from a high school student, asked of a Yale Alumni Coordinator inquiring about his application status provides context for this thought. Question: "Have you ever been arrested?" The first point to be made here – only the minority of inquiries into an applicant’s arrest history are phrased in such an open ended way. Furthermore, many applications are much clearer about requiring disclosure. I.E., You are not eligible for admission if you answer "yes" to above question. Yale’s application does not state that, but all the applicant’s here likely have non-disclosure language. Which brings us back to the question though. Yale asked about an arrest and this applicant’s answer is a flat out ‘No’. Which does create a problem because last check , this applicant has a Juvenile Court petition pending against him. A petition that was *not* dismissed and in fact, the Boy’s Mother recently received a notice of hearing setting. The boy is now currently in Needham District Court awaiting mandatory discovery (soliciting information from the alleged victim/witnesses). Even presuming that this boy’s case was at some point dismissed or found not delinquent, the Petition still would exist in court records and thus, permitting access to Yale’s questions regarding arrests and/or court involvement, the college could easily retrieve the boy’s records and determine that something did happen. Quizzing him on what happened, why it happened, whether it was repeated. Yale likely has ability to determine whether this boy’s response was either (a) a knowing lie or (b) a unintentional lie because his lawyers were negligent leading up to the hearing and didn’t alert him about the history. These are both very important questions and that’s just on the first question. Which raises to question again, why aren’t more parents and lawyers taking this more seriously? What is often viewed as a "slap on the wrist" from police officers or school administration, the juvenile court can have a serious impact on the rest of your child’s life. Future opportunities for education, employment, travel or even marriage could be impacted negatively from future background checks stemming from a past in juvenile court. Be proactive and avoid the undesirable.