Who does the court consider a Juvenile Delinquent

When a person who is under 16 years old, but is at least 7 years old, commits an act which would be a “crime” if he or she were an adult, and is then found to be in need of supervision, treatment or confinement, the person is called a “juvenile delinquent”. The act committed is called a “delinquent act”. All juvenile delinquency cases are heard in Family Court. Children who are 13, 14 and 15 years old who commit more serious or violent acts may be treated as adults. These cases may be heard in Supreme Court, but may sometimes be transferred to the Family Court. If found guilty, the child is called a “juvenile offender”, and is subject to more serious penalties than a juvenile delinquent.

How does the case begin in Family Court

A prosecuting attorney from the New York City Law Department, called an “Assistant Corporation Counsel”, presents the juvenile delinquency case. An Assistant District Attorney presents cases involving juvenile offenders, and some juvenile delinquency cases involving certain serious crimes (called “designated felonies”). The presentment agency (prosecutor) prepares a petition against the child containing a description of the acts he or she is accused of committing. The accused child is called the “respondent”. The victim in the case is called the “complainant”.
A child who has been arrested and held may be brought directly to Family Court by the police, or, when court is not in session, may be held overnight in a detention center until the next court day. In the alternative, a child may be arrested and released after being given an “appearance ticket” directing him or her to appear in court on a certain date. In court, the child and his parent or guardian are given a copy of the petition.

The Trial in Family Court

In a juvenile delinquency case, the trial is called a “fact-finding hearing”. A fact-finding hearing is the same as a criminal trial, but without a jury. The judge decides whether the child committed the acts described in the petition. If the court decides that the child must be held in detention (“remanded”) while waiting for the fact-finding hearing, a “probable cause” hearing may be held to determine whether there is good cause to hold the child in detention. There is no bail set in juvenile delinquency cases in Family Court.
Other hearings (called suppression hearings) which may be scheduled concern the evidence which the presentment agency may wish to use in the fact-finding hearing. The presentment agency must give certain police reports and other documents to the respondent’s lawyer (Discovery) so that the respondent can prepare his or her defense.