Juvenile detention involves short-term confinement after the arrest of a juvenile offender. The child might remain in detention until the juvenile judge decides their disposition, adjudication, or placement. A juvenile in Arizona refers to any person aged below 18 years. In Phoenix, a juvenile alleged to have engaged in crime, his/her case is handled by the juvenile court.
The cases in juvenile courts differ in several ways from those in adult courts. Sometimes the juvenile offender may face trial in adult courts. Understanding how the juvenile system works in Phoenix is a vital step you need to take immediately after your child's arrest. So, you will want to hire a juvenile attorney to represent your child.
At Phoenix Criminal Attorney, we specialize in criminal defense laws, and our attorneys have many years of experience. Our attorneys have helped many juveniles achieve better outcomes of their cases. Therefore, don’t hesitate to call us as soon as the police arrest your child.
The Legal Meaning of Juvenile Under Arizona Laws
According to Phoenix law, a juvenile is a person aged between ten and 18 years. It means the court considers a person under these age groups a delinquent, and the juvenile courts are responsible for handling their crimes. The offenses committed by the juvenile offenders may hurt their future. For instance, they may prevent them from applying for internships and jobs.
The Department of Juvenile In Phoenix
The department focuses on creating a safe community free from crime. Also, they aim at enabling minors to achieve their goals through a functional and safe family. When handling the crimes, the department seeks to administer justice through a comprehensive service delivery for both the child and their families. Again, the juvenile system aims at delivering justice for the alleged victims as well as the community. They also ensure the alleged victims restore and the family or community can work in the interests of the juvenile.
How Long Will the Juvenile Remain in Detention?
Juvenile facilities were established in Arizona to rehabilitate juvenile offenders and later become fully assimilated into society. After the law enforcement officers arrest your child, he/she must remain in detention. Within 24 hours, the court must conduct a hearing for detained juveniles. During the hearings, the juvenile judge determines whether to release the child or hold them in detention.
The juvenile court appoints a lawyer to represent the minor offender in the hearing. You have to note that a minor offender should not remain in detention for more than 24 hours unless there is a good reason present in a filed petition. So, after 24 hours, the court should release the child. When the parents/ guardians or close relatives are not present to pick the child, the court may discharge the minor to the department of child safety.
Can a Juvenile Offender Stay in Detention for More Than 24 Hours?
Under rule 23 of Arizona, the law outlines a few circumstances that may make your child stay in the detention facilities for more than 24 hours. The cases include:
- Where the judge believes the minor may harm themselves or other people.
- If the judge believes the life of the juvenile is at risk outside the detention center.
- Juvenile offenders aged between 15 and 18 years could be charged as adults for committing certain crimes. This crime includes sexual assault, murder, robbery, or violent felony offense.
Advantages of Short Detention Periods for Minor
In Arizona County, long-term juvenile confinement has more negative effects than good. From the recent research, juvenile detention increases the chances of adult incarceration while reducing the chances of high school graduation. Confinement of a minor increases the chances of mental disorders.
Keeping children in detention for long may be troublesome and harmful. Therefore, you need the help of an attorney with many years of experience in juvenile court to help secure your child from long juvenile imprisonment.
What Happens If Your Child Appears Before the Phoenix Juvenile Delinquency Court System?
If the police arrest your child for engaging in criminal activities in Phoenix, the court handles their case differently than a grown-up facing similar charges. In several instances, the court returns the child to their parents until the court schedules court hearings. You want to work with a criminal attorney immediately after the arrest and gather sufficient evidence to present during the court hearings.
The court allows your child’s defense attorney to provide evidence and challenge the prosecution's arguments. In the Phoenix juvenile courts, there are no juries but judges. After listening to both parties, the judge makes a judgment to decide the available rehabilitation program for the juvenile offender.
The juvenile judge has the final verdict concerning the sentencing of your child. To make a recommendation, they consider the facts available about the child's interests and the facts surrounding the case, and the juvenile’s prior criminal records. The proposals may include:
- Community service.
- Probation.
- Alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
- Family counseling.
- When the crime is severe, the judge might impose a detention.
You need a strong representation of your child during the court hearings. Working with a criminal attorney will have an impact on the case's outcome. Again the attorney will assist you in achieving the best outcome or guiding you on the best alternative available for your child.
Arizona Revised Rules, Rule 23
The law requires anyone placing a minor offender under a detention facility to report to the juvenile court and state the reasons for the minor’s detention. Upon receiving the report, the responsible juvenile court professionals will:
- Notify the child’s guardians or parents about the admission. The court’s officers will notify the parents of the detention, date, and time of the child’s detention hearing.
- Advise the juvenile on the facts surrounding their case.
- When the court officers don’t reach the child’s guardian/parents, they may hold a detention hearing in their absence.
- Once the court notes the child’s behavior would endanger other juveniles, they might restrict them from coming in contact.
- The juvenile court must inform the juvenile of their rights like visitation by their guardian, parent. After the juvenile’s initial visit, the other visits should be done at regular hours.
- The court must notify the juvenile of their rights to call guardians or parents with custodial rights towards them. The juvenile must receive advice about their right to counsel soon after being put in a detention Centre.
According to rule 23, a juvenile offender shouldn’t remain in detention for more than 24 hours unless the prosecutor has a petition supporting it. Unless the court orders, the juvenile offender isn’t allowed to remain in the facility for more than 24 hours after the detention hearing. However, if the court doesn’t schedule the hearing within the necessary time, the court must release the child to detention under their guardians/parents.
Detention Hearing in Arizona
For the court to schedule the detention, the law enforcement officers should have probable cause concerning the juvenile’s arrest. The probable cause also accompanies a legal testimony or affidavit concerning the allegations.
The affidavit serves as a testimony before the juvenile judge. The law allows the alleged victim to argue his/her side of the story during the hearing. The judge will recommend the detention of the juvenile when he/she has a reasonable belief there is a probable cause that:
- It's in the juvenile's best interests or society for the juvenile offender to remain in detention hall.
- The juvenile won’t present themselves during the detention hearing.
- The court should hold the juvenile for another hearing.
- The court believes your child will commit another offense or cause harm to others.
The juvenile judge may decide to release the child during the detention hearing. Again, there are necessary conditions for the juvenile to meet before their release. For instance, the juvenile judge decides the release based on the facts surrounding the case.
According to the laws, if the juvenile offender violates any set conditions of release or skips court proceedings, it might trigger an arrest warrant. Upon the arrest, the police return the child to the detention hall, and the court might proceed with the future hearing without the juvenile’s presence. The court issues the alleged victim of the crime in question with a photocopy of the conditions and terms of the minor’s release.
What Happens After Violating a Release Condition in a Juvenile Court?
The court assigns your child juvenile probation after their release. The probation officer is responsible for their supervision and treatment. If the prosecution team has probable cause that your child has revoked the conditions of the probation, they may submit a written request or a petition to reject the release. The petition or the request states the conduct your child was involved in. The behavior must link with violation of the condition. Then the juvenile court will act according to the law.
The Legal Meaning of Delinquency in Arizona
A delinquency is a youth aged at least 14 years old and has appeared before the juvenile court two previous times for a felony crime and now arrested for another felony crime. The juvenile judge may refer the juvenile offender to criminal adult court if the county attorney believes it's in the public's best interest. For instance, if the youth offender is aged between 15 and 18 years may commit crimes like first or second-degree murder, robbery, assaulting a victim by force, aggravated driving offense of any other crime considered violent. Then, he/she may face trial at the adult court.
Examples of Juvenile Crimes
In Arizona, the police might arrest a juvenile for committing criminal activities just like an adult. The following are the common offenses committed by juvenile offenders in Phoenix.
- Shoplifting in Phoenix
In Arizona, your child commits the crime of shoplifting when he/she enters a room or a store and purposely obtains goods to deprive the merchant by:
- Removing goods from their display and leaving the store without making payment for them.
- Concealing the property.
- Transferring an item/product from one place to another.
- Changing the product purchase price to fake the merchant.
The misdemeanor shoplifting penalties range depending on the facts of the case, the type of the stolen property or item. As a misdemeanor, the punishment for shoplifting triggers heavy fines not exceeding $25,000 and jail time for at least six months. The penalties for a shoplifting felony take at least two years in prison.
- Drug Crimes. In Arizona, possession of illegal drugs is common among youth. The drugs include paraphernalia, marijuana, etc. The penalties for the crime carry heavy fines and long jail terms.
- Criminal Damage. In Arizona, criminal damage takes several forms. For instance, the damaging of public utility, blocking livestock from accessing a water source, damaging another person’s property.
- Taking Control of Another Person’s Property. The crime involves Obtain compensable services without; making payments, agreeing to make payments for goods or service but withholding the payment after the completion of the service.
- Threatening Other People. In Phoenix, it's unauthorized to threaten another person either verbally or through your conduct. Then it's a crime to use the threat to cause damages or physical injuries to another person or their property.
- Assaulting Other People. According to Arizona laws, the crime involves knowingly or recklessly causing harm to another person. Again, it includes touching another person to cause injuries, insult them, or provoking them.
The Punishments for Juvenile Crimes in Phoenix Area
The juvenile system in Arizona focuses on rehabilitating juvenile offenders. The consequences of juvenile offense punishment include a wide variety of things like:
- Community service.
- Juvenile detentions.
- Counseling and guidance on substance abuse.
For the above crimes, juvenile intervention programs are essential in helping rehabilitate the juvenile offender. The programs focus on preventing future crimes by juveniles. In Arizona, numerous intervention programs are established. They include:
- Community Bridges. Community bridges are a pre-arrest diversion program used to address the juvenile's mental, physical, and behavior problems.
- Be Awesome. The program is offered in Maricopa county. It's important to note the program is delivered through school mentorship.
- Arizona Youth Parties. The program is offered as a detention alternative in Mohave county.
- Pima County Juvenile Court Centre. The program is used as an alternative for incarceration.
In Arizona, there are other additional juvenile programs responsible for holding the juvenile's actions without incarceration. The law requires them to attend the program as ordered by the juvenile judge.
Juvenile Intensive Probation Programs (JIPP)
The programs focus on diverting juvenile offenders who require an immediate supervised program. The court uses the program when other centers are overcrowded or for the offenders ordered to stay away from their families. They show how the offender should be responsible for their behavior and the consequences if they don’t perform as a rehabilitated person would act.
The JIPP program was launched in Arizona in 1987. Since then, they have provided intensive supervision for thousands of juvenile offenders placed away from their homes. Recently the program has shown effectiveness for juveniles. During the disposition hearing, the juvenile judge decides what to happen to the juvenile. Depending on the nature of the crime, they put the offenders in JIPPS programs. Again, they consider the report from the probation experts.
The resources are aimed at helping the child as a method of avoiding detention centers and preventing future crimes. In 2007, Arizona laws underwent several changes bringing challenges for the juvenile offenders since their cases were transferred to criminal adult court. Therefore, you want to hire a phoenix attorney to fight for the rights of your child. The attorney should be conversant with the Arizona juvenile system for the best outcomes of your case.
The Work of a Lawyer During Detention Hearing in Arizona
Once the police arrest your child for committing a juvenile crime, it is essential to have a legal defense. Working with a phoenix criminal attorney is the best choice. The attorney will represent and be present from the starting of the case and current evidence to decrease the child’s detention period. The attorney will be available throughout when you require legal help.
The Effects of a Criminal Record on Your Child’s Future
Remember, as mentioned above, a conviction for juvenile crimes may negatively affect your child’s future. Unless the conviction is expunged, the offense will remain in your child’s criminal records. Various institutions will have access to the records like banks, employers, educational institutions, and landlords. Thus it is vital to conduct a juvenile attorney around you. The attorney will provide your child with a solid defense to skip the conviction, which could negatively impact their future.
Find a Phoenix Criminal Lawyer Near Me
If the police arrest your child in Arizona, you want to hire a competent attorney for your child. The attorney should work tirelessly to pursue rehabilitative options, protect him/her from facing detention and safeguard their future. At Phoenix Criminal Attorney, our lawyers provide legal services for parents of juveniles offenders facing charges in Phoenix, AZ. If your child is in detention, don’t hesitate to call us at 602-551-8092, and we will start working on your case right away.
