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In the law, a minor is referred to as a JUVENILE.
When a juvenile commits an offense which would be a felony if
committed by an adult, the juvenile is charged with being DELINQUENT.
If the juvenile commits an offense which would be a misdemeanor
if committed by an adult, and it is the juvenile’s first
offense, the juvenile is charged with being WAYWARD.
A juvenile may also be charged with offenses called STATUS
OFFENSES , which apply only to minors, such as truancy,
disobedience, etc. An action against a juvenile is not considered
a criminal action and the juvenile, even if found guilty, will
not have a criminal record. Many of the procedures are the same,
however, as those for adults charged with crime.
All charges against juveniles (minors under the age of eighteen)
are filed in the FAMILY
COURT and most will be handled to completion in that Court.
The Family Court is in a building with other courts, but different
judges handle Family Court matters. A delinquency case may sometimes
be transferred to Superior Court, and the juvenile treated after
that as if s/he were an adult. Only very serious offenses, or
juveniles with lengthy previous records, may be transferred to
adult court where s/he will have the right to a jury trial. That
is called a waiver of Family Court jurisdiction. Instead of transferring
a juvenile charged with a serious crime, the Family Court may
CERTIFY
the juvenile instead. If a juvenile is certified, s/he will be
given a jury trial in the Family Court.
A juvenile is charged with waywardness or delinquency in the
same way in which an adult in District Court is charged with a
crime: the police will sign a petition, claiming that the juvenile
has committed an offense. The juvenile will be arraigned, the
way an adult is, and some release condition may be set. A juvenile
is entitled to a lawyer at arraignment and, if the juvenile’s
family is indigent, a Public Defender lawyer will represent the
juvenile. A juvenile is also entitled to have a parent with him
or her at all times. Juveniles may be held without bail more often
than adults. Usually, money bail is not set for a juvenile: either
the juvenile is released on personal recognizance or the juvenile
is committed without bail at the Boys’ or Girls’ Training
School in Cranston to await trial.
A juvenile may admit delinquency or s/he may plead not guilty.
The juvenile prosecutor may plea bargain. If the juvenile pleads
not guilty (which should always be done at arraignment), the juvenile
will be entitled to a trial, with all the same protections that
an adult has at trial. Witnesses will testify, they will be cross-examined
by the other side, the juvenile may testify under oath if he or
she wants to, and the judge will decide whether the juvenile is
delinquent or not (whether he or she has committed the offense
charged). The primary difference between a juvenile’s trial
and an adult’s trial is that there is no jury in the Family
Court for juveniles unless they are certified.
Juveniles may be sentenced to a range of sentences. While fines
are rarely used in the juvenile system, restitution is common
if a victim has suffered a monetary loss. Juveniles may be placed
on probation for definite or indefinite periods, and sentences
of imprisonment may be suspended. Juveniles may be sentenced to
serve jailtime at a Training School. If a juvenile is convicted
after a trial, his or her appeal to the Supreme Court is exactly
like the appeal of an adult who has been convicted in the Superior
Court. If the appeal is won, the juvenile will receive a new trial.
There are some important differences between a juvenile proceeding
and an adult proceeding. First, an adult may be held in custody
just because s/he cannot afford whatever surety bail was set.
A juvenile may he held in custody awaiting trial only after a
PROBABLE CAUSE HEARING.
This hearing may be held automatically whenever the judge decides
to hold the juvenile without bail awaiting trial; if the judge
does not announce that a probable cause hearing will be held,
the juvenile, or his or her lawyer should request such a hearing.
At the hearing, the prosecution will present witnesses who will
testify under oath and the defense may or may not present witnesses.
After the hearing, if the judge decides that the juvenile is probably
guilty”, the juvenile may continue to be held without bail
until trial (although a judge always has the power to release
a juvenile regardless of whether he or she is probably guilty).
If the judge decides that the prosecution has not shown enough
evidence to believe that the juvenile is probably guilty, the
juvenile must be released until trial.
Another difference between juveniles and adults concerns sentencing.
Unless a juvenile is waived to adult court. or certified in the
Family Court. no sentence can last past his or her 21st birthday
no matter how serious the offense s/he committed was. If the sentence
involves probation, the probation must end on the juvenile’s
21st birthday. This is more beneficial treatment than adults receive.
On the other hand, juvenile sentences may last until the juvenile’s
21st birthday, no matter how minor the offense was, and this is
far less beneficial.
With limited exceptions, juvenile proceedings are confidential,
as are juvenile records. A person with only a juvenile record
has no convictions and no arrests. More and more, though, Rhode
Island law has changed the confidentiality of juvenile records.
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