Juvenile Law

There is probably no more difficult, albeit interesting, job in the state than the position occupied by the juvenile court judge. Each year brings an increasing number of state appellate decisions involving delinquents, status offenders, and deprived children. In addition, the United States Supreme Court has now rendered six decisions further clarifying the constitutional rights of juveniles in the juvenile justice system. As in the previous Survey, the first section of this article will deal with developments in the pre-adjudicatory stage, from "arrest" through the filing of a formal petition.

The second section will deal with developments in the adjudicatory stage, the trial on the merits of the petition. And the third section will focus upon developments concerning the dispositional stage, which is that stage in which the judicial decision is made about what should be done with a particular child who has been adjudicated to be in need of supervision, rehabilitation, or treatment within the juvenile justice system. A final section dealing with the court's jurisdiction over deprived children and termination of parental rights proceedings is added for the first time this year in view of the increasing number of significant appellate decisions which have dealt with this aspect of the court's power and responsibility.