A divided Utah Supreme Court held that a prosecutor may file a delinquency petition after an ineligible minor received a nonjudicial adjustment from probation.
The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed a contempt order against the Wyoming Boys’ School for refusing to admit an alleged delinquent juvenile before adjudication. The court held that Wyoming law expressly prohibits pre-adjudication placement at WBS, which is a reformatory for adjudicated delinquents — not a juvenile detention facility — and that the juvenile court abused its discretion by ordering such placement. All three exceptions to the mootness doctrine applied, allowing the court to reach the merits despite the case having been resolved below.
Appellate Division affirms retention of adolescent offender case in Youth Part, finding extraordinary circumstances survived appeal waiver as jurisdictional issue and creating inter-departmental split.
The Fifth District affirmed the conviction and sentence of a 19-year-old DYS inmate for felonious assault committed within a juvenile correctional facility, rejecting the argument that the case should have originated in or been remanded to juvenile court.
The Fifth District affirmed the juvenile court’s decision to transfer jurisdiction of a 16-year-old charged with aggravated robbery and felonious assault to adult court, finding the amenability determination was supported by competent, credible evidence.
The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer of a juvenile murder case to juvenile court, holding that the State’s ex parte 90-day extension of the 180-day indictment deadline under OCGA section 17-7-50.1(a) was invalid because the State failed to provide notice, hold a hearing, or demonstrate good cause as the statute requires.
The Eighth District reversed the juvenile court’s denial of mandatory bindover, holding that a juvenile’s own recorded confession admitting he ‘put a gun on’ a victim established probable cause for the firearm display element without requiring victim testimony.
The First District affirmed a juvenile delinquency adjudication for felonious assault, holding that FaceTime-based identification combined with social media confirmation was sufficient and that DYS commitment was appropriate for a first-time offender who fired a gun at a victim.