JUVENILE OFFENSES
While the adult criminal system’s main goal is to punish the individual found guilty of a crime, the juvenile court system’s main purpose is to rehabilitate the youth and prevent recidivism.
As a parent, when your son or daughter is processed through the juvenile system, there are many unanswered questions about the legal process ahead. To make matters worse, a simple mistake made at the age of 14 or 16 can have lingering effects on a child’s career path or educational dreams. If this is your child’s first time through the juvenile system, the State Attorney’s Office has numerous diversion programs that will allow your child to complete some minor sanctions and then have the charges against them dismissed.
If diversion is not an option, most juveniles will be placed on a period of probation and required to abide by a curfew, attend school regularly, report to a probation officer, complete community service hours, and refrain from committing new law violations.
Lastly, if a juvenile continues to violate the law and his terms of probation, a Pre-Disposition Report will be ordered and the youth might serve a sentence in a juvenile detention facility. This is the last resort of the juvenile system and at the Law Office of Bhavik Patel, we will work hard to make sure our clients are not forced to be taken away from their homes and into a detention setting.
As a former prosecutor, Mr. Patel spent close to a year in the juvenile system, worked closely with numerous probation officers from the Department of Juvenile Justice, and conducted over numerous first chair trials in juvenile court. He is familiar with the juvenile system from moment of arrest to the end of the case and will work to make sure you are fully informed of each step in the juvenile’s case.
Here are some common terms used in the juvenile system:
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Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC)
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Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI)
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Juvenile Detention Center (JDC)
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Detention Hearings
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Adjudicatory Hearing
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Pre-Disposition Report
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Commitment Program
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Direct File
Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC)
The JAC is the location where law enforcement takes juvenile’s to conduct their initial intake of the youth. At the JAC, the youth’s parents will be called and Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI) will be completed. Based on the youth’s criminal history and nature of the crime, the youth will either be taken to the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), placed on home detention, or released back to his or her parents.
Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (DRAI)
The DRAI is a scoring instrument that gives a youth a certain points score based on the nature of the crime, the current status of the youth, aggravating factors during the commission of the crime, and a youth’s prior criminal history. If a youth scores 12 points or more on the DRAI, they will be held in secure detention at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC). If they score between 8-11 points, they will be released on home-detention. If they score less than 8 points, they will be released back to their parents.
Juvenile Detention Center (JDC)
The Juvenile Detention Center is the juvenile version of the Orange County Jail. Juvenile’s that score 12 or more points on the DRAI are held at the JDC until their adjudicatory hearing. The JDC in Orange County is located right next to the Juvenile Courthouse on Michigan and Bumby Street.
Detention Hearings
Detention Hearings allow the juvenile’s attorney to contest the points that are assessed on the DRAI. In many cases, the police arrest the juvenile for a higher offense than the State Attorney’s Office.
Adjudicatory Hearing
An adjudicatory hearing is the juvenile version of a trial. A juvenile has the same constitutional rights as an adult and can only be found guilty if the State proves its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The State will have the call witnesses to the stand, subject them to cross-examination, and the juvenile will have the right to testify or call their own witnesses. There is no jury in an adjudicatory hearing, rather, the judge is the fact finder.
Pre-Disposition Report (PDR)
A PDR is a thorough and complete analysis of the juvenile’s upbringing and social environment, the juvenile’s prior criminal history, the juvenile’s school performance, and a recommendation of where to place the juvenile. A PDR is completed when a juvenile continues to violate the terms of his or her probation and the State seeks to place the juvenile in a commitment setting. A youth’s parents and attorney have the right to be present at the PDR staffing and can provide valuable information to the youth’s probation officer to prevent the youth from being sent to a commitment program.
Commitment Programs
The Department of Juvenile Justice has four separate commitment programs for juveniles who continue to commit serious felonies and violate the terms of their probation. Commitment programs range from level 4, 6, 8, or 10, and most programs take the juvenile out of the public and into a residential commitment setting. The programs typically last for 6 months to a year and focus on rehabilitating the juvenile so that he does not end up in the adult system. After completing the commitment program, a juvenile can either be placed on post commitment probation or be terminated from supervision.
Direct File
Under certain circumstances, the State of Florida can elect to send a juvenile’s case to the adult system even if the juvenile has not reached the age of 18. Most of these cases involve a juvenile who has a lengthy criminal history and a juvenile who used a firearm in the commission of a new crime. Direct File cases treat a juvenile just like an adult and the punishments a juvenile face can include jail or prison.
Contact Us Today
The juvenile system can be confusing and have important ramifications for your child’s future. When it comes to making sure that your child’s rights are protected, contact the Law Office of Bhavik Patel today and speak to a former prosecutor who has real experience in the juvenile court system.