Indiana Juvenile Defense

When a child is accused of a crime, the case usually goes to juvenile court, where the system is supposed to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. But the consequences can still be serious: detention, probation, placement outside the home, commitment to the Department of Correction, and a record that can follow a young person into adulthood. Some cases can be moved to adult court, and some start there automatically.

As a prosecutor, I hired, supervised and trained the deputies who handled juvenile cases. I know how juvenile cases are charged, when prosecutors seek to move a case to adult court, and what juvenile judges weigh when deciding what happens to a young person. I now use that experience to defend children and their families.

What happens when a child is taken into custody?

At the detention hearing, release is the statutory starting point. The court generally must release the child to a parent, guardian or custodian, or on the child's own promise to appear, unless the required grounds for detention exist. Those grounds can include a risk of failing to appear, a need to protect the child or community, or specified problems with returning the child home. The court must use a detention screening tool to inform its decision.

Release may include conditions such as home detention, electronic monitoring, a curfew or a no-contact order. The statutory findings required for detention do not apply in the same way to home detention and specified release conditions.

If the child is not released, a detention hearing must occur within 48 hours after custody begins, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. If the hearing is not held within that period, the statute requires release. That does not mean the delinquency case is automatically dismissed.

Can police question my child without me?

The answer depends on the circumstances. Indiana provides special safeguards when police subject a child to custodial interrogation, but a parent's absence does not automatically make every conversation unlawful or every statement inadmissible.

An unemancipated child generally cannot waive these rights alone. One route is through the child's lawyer, with the child knowingly and voluntarily joining the waiver. Another is through a qualifying custodial parent, guardian, custodian or guardian ad litem. Under that route, the adult must knowingly and voluntarily waive the right, have no interest adverse to the child, and satisfy the meaningful consultation requirement. The child must also knowingly and voluntarily join the waiver. Separate rules apply to emancipated children.

Merely having a parent in the room is not enough. Whether there was a genuine opportunity for private consultation, whether the adult had conflicting interests, and whether the waiver was knowing and voluntary can be critical.

Contact a lawyer before agreeing to an interview or signing a waiver. The child should clearly communicate a decision not to answer questions and a request for a lawyer. Do not rely solely on a parent's request as a substitute.

Will my child's case go to adult court?

It can, in three ways. In each, the relevant age is generally the child's age when the alleged act occurred, not age at the hearing.

• Cases that start in adult court. For specified charges committed at age 16 or 17, juvenile court has no jurisdiction. These include murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, rape, specified aggravated robberies, certain felony offenses under Indiana's children-and-firearms law, and qualifying joined offenses.
• Presumptively required waiver. On the prosecutor's motion and after a hearing, the juvenile court must waive a child of at least 12 charged with murder, and a child of at least 16 charged with a Level 1 through Level 4 felony (other than a felony under the controlled substance statutes), involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, or certain felony handgun or firearm offenses, if there is probable cause. The court may keep the case if remaining in juvenile court is in the best interests of the child and the safety and welfare of the community.
• Discretionary waiver. The juvenile court may waive a child of at least 14 charged with a heinous or aggravated felony, or a felony that is part of a repetitive pattern, if the child is beyond rehabilitation in the juvenile system and adult trial is in the community's best interests. It may also waive a child of at least 16 charged with a felony under Indiana's controlled substance statutes.

Not every juvenile firearm charge automatically starts in adult court. A statutory exception may keep a qualifying dangerous possession case in juvenile court when it is the only pending felony and the child's prior firearm record satisfies the statute's limits. A case that stays in juvenile court may still be subject to a prosecutor's waiver request.

On the prosecutor's motion, waiver is also required when the child is charged with an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult and previously has been convicted of a felony or nontraffic misdemeanor. A prior juvenile adjudication is not the same as the prior conviction specified in this provision.

A waiver requires a full investigation and hearing, and the waiver order must include specific findings. A motion to waive cannot be made or granted after the child admits the allegations at the initial hearing or after the first witness is sworn at the factfinding hearing.

The waiver hearing is often the most important hearing in a serious juvenile case. Evidence about the child's background, school, mental health, family support and ability to respond to services can bear on whether the case stays in juvenile court.

Can a case in adult court come back to juvenile court?

Sometimes. When a case starts in adult court under the automatic jurisdiction statute, all qualifying charges are dismissed or result in acquittal, and the young person pleads guilty to or is convicted of a nonqualifying offense, the adult court may withhold judgment and transfer the case to juvenile court for adjudication and disposition. Transfer is discretionary. The court considers available juvenile services, amenability to rehabilitation, and community safety.

Is there a jury in juvenile court?

No. Juvenile delinquency cases are tried to the judge, not a jury. The absence of a jury does not reduce the State's burden. The State must prove the alleged delinquent act beyond a reasonable doubt.

A child's admission or waiver of rights requires appropriate safeguards; the presence of a parent or lawyer alone does not establish a valid waiver. A case waived to adult court is tried like any adult criminal case, including the right to a jury.

Can a case be resolved without a formal delinquency adjudication?

Sometimes. After a preliminary inquiry and with juvenile court approval, an intake officer may implement informal adjustment. A risk screening tool informs the recommendation. The child and the child's parent, guardian, custodian or attorney must consent.

Informal adjustment can provide services and conditions without a formal delinquency adjudication. Under current law, the program may not exceed six months. It is not the same as an adjudication followed by probation, and it does not guarantee that no records remain.

What can happen if a child is found delinquent?

If consistent with community safety and the child's best interests, the court must select the least restrictive, most family-like and most appropriate available setting, while minimizing interference with family life and allowing reasonable parental participation. This does not guarantee placement at home.

Possible orders include:

• probation, with conditions such as school attendance, counseling, community service or curfew;
• treatment or services;
• restitution and driver's license consequences;
• placement outside the home, such as with a relative, foster care or a residential facility; or
• commitment to the Department of Correction for some cases.

Juvenile court jurisdiction can continue until age 21 unless it ends earlier. Awarding guardianship to the Department of Correction generally ends that continuing jurisdiction, subject to statutory exceptions. Juvenile court jurisdiction, DOC wardship, and the permissible duration of a placement are different questions.

Turning 18 does not necessarily eliminate exposure for an offense committed as a child. Indiana also provides adult court jurisdiction over certain people age 21 or older charged with childhood offenses that could have been waived.

Will my child have a record?

Yes. Juvenile records are not automatically private in every case, and they do not always disappear at adulthood. Although confidentiality is the general rule, specified information and documents become publicly accessible when a petition alleges an act that would be murder or a felony if committed by an adult. Public access also applies to specified combinations of unrelated misdemeanor-level acts.

Publicly available information can include the child's name, age, the allegations, and specified filings and orders. Other protected material remains confidential. Public access can arise from the filing of the petition, before an adjudication.

For adjudications after June 30, 2021 that are not excluded by the statute (acts that would be felonies, and offenses under IC 35-47-2 or IC 35-47-10), the court generally must order the records expunged on its own within 60 days after the child turns 19, or one year after the child is discharged, whichever is later, unless the court finds that automatic expungement would not serve the interests of justice.

Any person may also petition the juvenile court at any time to seal delinquency records, or to remove records of proceedings that did not result in a finding that the child committed an act that would be a serious violent felony if committed by an adult. Filing a petition does not guarantee relief.

Adult expungement waiting periods do not simply apply to juvenile records. A case waived to adult court and ending in an adult conviction is governed by the adult expungement rules. See my page on Indiana expungement.

What should parents do?

• Contact counsel before agreeing to police questioning or signing a waiver. Help your child understand the importance of clearly communicating a decision to remain silent and requesting a lawyer.
• Be careful discussing the facts with your child. What your child tells you may not be protected.
• Identify school, medical and counseling records that may help. Have counsel review sensitive records before providing them to police, probation or the prosecutor.
• Keep your child in school and following any release conditions. Compliance matters to the court.
• Call a lawyer early, especially if adult court or waiver is possible.

Every case depends on its own facts. This page is general information, not legal advice, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.