NCJ Number
81237
Journal
Children's Legal Rights Journal Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: (November/December 1981) Pages: 11-16
Editor(s)
R Gottesman
Date Published
1981
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Legal issues arising in juvenile diversion programs during custody, intake, and termination hearings are outlined.
Abstract
Equal protection is an initial concern of diversion programs. Many programs exclude youngsters who have committed certain types of offenses, have an unacceptable juvenile history, or are the wrong sex. These exclusions can be challenged on the basis of whether the rehabilitation objective was being met by excluding certain groups. The decision to divert children out of the justice system or to refer them to juvenile court is made on an informal basis and is not appealable. Children have no right to counsel and often are not told their fifth amendment right to remain silent. Moreover, children may be pressured to confess to the police officer, and their confessions can be used against them if a delinquency petition is filed. Standards should be established which would eliminate possible bias on the part of the officer and safeguard the child's fifth amendment rights. Police officers should be required to give the child a 'Miranda' warning and to ensure that the warning is understood. During intake, juveniles should be given a preliminary hearing before a judge or master on the question of (1) whether they committed the offense and (2) whether they need treatment. This hearing eliminates the possibility that the intake workers' personal biases might cause them to file a delinquency petition and thus unnecessarily involve the youth in the justice system. Moreover, judges or masters (when diverting juveniles) should be required to seek for the child the least severe dispositional alternative consistent with the situation. Also, intake workers need to alert juveniles to the fact that communications between them are not privileged. Statutory time limitations should be placed on informal adjustment and diversionary programs to ensure that a case will not be delayed for months and that the parents and child will know when the diversion program will end. Further, diversion program personnel should develop a standard procedure for terminating juvenile participation. Four footnotes are included.