How familiar are you with the Michigan criminal justice system? Do you need to speak with a juvenile criminal defense attorney? This article addresses some of the frequently asked questions surrounding the Michigan juvenile justice system and what to do if you or a loved one are facing charges.
Do you have a juvenile facing charges? Unhappy with your juvenile criminal defense attorney? Request a free consultation now.
1. How Does Michigan Define a Juvenile?
Under current Michigan law, a person is considered an adult for purposes of the criminal law at the age of 17.
So, if a 17-year-old is accused of a crime, he or she will be tried as an adult in either district or circuit court rather than in family court.
If a juvenile is 14, 15, or 16 years old and is accused of committing a felony, the prosecutor may file a motion that asks the family court to waive its delinquency jurisdiction.
This is to allow the juvenile to be tried in the same manner as an adult in a court of general criminal jurisdiction.
2. Can a Juvenile’s Parents or Guardians Ever Be Held Responsible for the Juvenile’s Actions?
Michigan has parental responsibility laws that impose liability on parents for the delinquent behavior of their children.
These laws attempt to involve parents in the lives of their children by holding them civilly and/or criminally liable for their children’s actions.
Penalties for violation of these laws include:
- increased participation by parents in juvenile proceedings,
- financial responsibilities for restitution payments and court costs,
- financial responsibility for detention, treatment, and supervisory costs,
- participation in treatment, counseling and other diversion programs, and
- criminal responsibility and possible jail time for parents found negligent in their supervision.
3. What are Delinquency Proceedings?
Delinquency proceedings happen when dealing with juveniles under the age of 17 who are charged with a violation of any criminal law, criminal ordinance, traffic law, or with a status offense.
Status offenses include running away from home, incorrigibility and school truancy.
Delinquency proceedings occur within the Family Division of the court system.
If the juvenile is found responsible for the offense, the Family Division may order a juvenile disposition, which is an official document that details the final outcome of the case.
An order of disposition includes placing the juvenile on probation or committing the juvenile to state wardship.
Do you have a juvenile facing charges? Unhappy with your juvenile criminal defense attorney? Request a free consultation now.
4. Does Michigan Have Juvenile Jails?
There’s no such thing as juvenile jail, but there are juvenile facilities that young people who break the law can be sentenced to by family court judges.
Although they’re not called “jail,” the juvenile facilities are locked-down facilities.
In Michigan, the treatment for juvenile crimes is to rehabilitate the young offender, while the result for adult crimes is generally punishment.
5. What Happens If a Juvenile is Found to Have Committed a Crime?
In the Michigan juvenile justice system, if a juvenile has been found to have committed an offense, the court may enter an order of disposition.
The court has multiple options available, including:
- returning the juvenile to his or her parents,
- warning the juvenile or the juvenile’s parents and dismissing the petition,
- ordering a term of in-home probation,
- ordering the juvenile placed in suitable foster care,
- ordering the juvenile placed in, or committed to, a private or public institution or agency, and
- ordering that the juvenile satisfactorily complete a training program in a juvenile boot camp.
Understanding the Michigan Juvenile Justice System
It’s important to understand legal proceedings when a juvenile commits a crime.
Within the Michigan juvenile justice system, parents can be held liable for the delinquent behavior of their children.
And while the desired outcome of any proceeding against a juvenile is rehabilitation, the court can sentence young offenders to juvenile facilities.
Do you have a juvenile facing charges? Unhappy with your juvenile criminal defense attorney? Request a free consultation now.
Barton Morris has been a well respected and premier attorney in Michigan for over 20 years. In every area of law he has practiced he has excelled to the top of his field always ensuring that his clients receive the highest and best level of service available. He is the principal attorney at the Law Office of Barton Morris which is comprised of a small number of attorneys all of whom share in his vision to improve the lives of their clients with superior service and exemplary results. When it comes to criminal defense, Barton’s reputation is stellar. He has been teaching lawyers all over the country as a faculty member of the DUI Defense Lawyer’s Association and as the President of the Michigan Association of OWI Lawyers. Barton is the only attorney in Michigan certified by the American Chemical Society as a Forensic-Lawyer Scientist. He is also the only criminal defense lawyer to present to the Forensic Science Division of the Michigan State Police at their annual conference. Barton was also the only chosen criminal defense attorney to present to the Michigan State Police’s Impaired Driving Commission on the issues of driving under the influence of marijuana. Regarding marijuana, he has also very well known and respected. Barton played an instrumental role in the legalization of adult use marijuana in Michigan with the successful Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in November of 2018 (he was also part of the failed campaign in 2016). Barton is currently the chair-elect of the Cannabis Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan and will Chair that section in 2023-2024. He is the founder of the Cannabis Legal Group which has been delivering expert legal services to the commercial medical and AU industry since 2015. Barton has been named a Super Lawyer every year since 2015 and a Top Lawyer by DBusiness Magazine annually. He regularly appears as a guest legal commentator on Fox 2, Let it Rip, WXYZ, NPR, and WWJ. He is also regularly interviewed and quoted in the Detroit Free Press, Metro Times and MLive. But despite all of his accomplishments, he believes his most important are the amazing results he and his firm has and continue to obtain for his clients over the years.