Juvenile Court Proceedings

Delinquency Hearing

After a Juvenile Petition is filed, the first phase of a Juvenile Court Case is the adjudication hearing. This is a trial before a Court of Common Pleas Judge.

Your child has the same rights guaranteed under the Constitutions of the United States and Pennsylvania as an adult, except that a delinquency trial will be held before a judge, not a jury. Your child has the right to remain silent, the right to be free from unlawful search and seizure, the privilege against self-incrimination, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him, and the right to counsel.

The attorney assigned to your child's case will review the case and will help your child to decide what to do. Options include going to trial (where the child could be found guilty of all, some, or none of the charges), non-trial resolutions to your child's case (e.g., consent decree, mediation, continue to observe), or a negotiated plea bargain with your child.

Disposition Hearing

If your child is adjudicated delinquent (meaning found guilty or pleads guilty), the next phase of a Juvenile Court proceeding is the disposition phase.

At the disposition, the judge has many options. The judge could place your child on probation with a variety of conditions including, but not limited to:

• Testing and evaluation
• Participation in therapy
• Payment of restitution and costs

The judge can also order that your child be placed at a facility outside of the home. Judges will usually only place a child outside of the home after all other treatment options have been exhausted.

Disposition options are looked at as climbing a ladder - the more frequently a child is before the Court or the more serious the offenses, the higher on the ladder of options you go. It is very rare that a child would be placed outside of the home on a first offense.