Information On The Juvenile Court Process

At the time of the arrest itself, depending on the nature of the offence committed, it is decided whether to send the matter ahead to the juvenile court or to divert it out of the judicial system into an alternate program, such as counseling, treatment and rehabilitation, or correctional education.

Offenders under the age of 17 years come under the purview of juvenile courts if the offence committed by them is not of a very serious nature. Under special circumstances, when the juvenile has committed a very serious crime, including sexual assault of a minor or a physically or mentally challenged person, then he or she can be directly slapped with criminal charges and tried in adult criminal courts, or the prosecutors can exert their discretion and decide to proceed through the juvenile justice system. In such circumstances, the juvenile court’s intake department determines whether there is sufficient ground to merit a petition (requesting that the case be transferred to the jurisdiction of an adult criminal court) or not.

In such cases where the offense is of very serious nature, the juvenile court waives its jurisdiction to adult criminal court and the juvenile is presented as an adult for conviction and sentenced with incarceration in either an adult or juvenile detention centre. However, when the juvenile court retains jurisdiction, a petition can be filed or the juvenile can be diverted to alternative programs.

In case a delinquency petition is accepted, then the juvenile is presented before the court. Juvenile courts usually handle offenders with much more prudence and sensitivity than in adult courts. Instead of a prison sentence, juvenile delinquents are often sentenced with probation, detention in a residential facility, restitution, or fines.