Transcript Criminal Law: A Year in Review

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Legislation enacted in 2009 in an effort to have a
more comprehensive approach to juvenile in the
criminal justice system.
Prior to the Single Point of Entry being enacted,
juveniles appeared in front of Municipal Court,
Circuit Court or Juvenile Court without little
oversight or review of the tickets to ensure most
appropriate services and court put in place for
that juvenile.
Now all tickets are reviewed by District/County
Attorneys Offices and teams, and the most
appropriate avenue for juvenile is discussed.
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District attorney shall establish objective
criteria, screening and assessment
procedures for determining the court for
appropriate disposition in cooperation and
coordination with each municipality in the
jurisdiction of the District Court.
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District attorney shall serve as single point of
entry for all minors alleged to have
committed a crime.
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Copies of all charging documents, reports or
citations for cases shall be forwarded to the
district attorney prior to the filing of the
charge, report or citation in municipal or city
court.
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The following cases, excluding status cases, may
be originally commenced either in the juvenile
court or in the district court or inferior court
having jurisdiction:
(i) Violations of municipal ordinances, except
that if a juvenile is sentenced in a municipal court
to a sentence exceeding ten (10) days of jail or
detention, the municipal court shall provide to
the district attorney in the juvenile’s county of
residence and the department of education a
copy of the judgment and sentence;
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(ii) All misdemeanors except:
(A) Those cases within the exclusive
jurisdiction of the juvenile court;
(B) If a juvenile is sentenced in municipal
or circuit court to a sentence exceeding ten
(10) days of jail or detention, the municipal or
circuit court shall provide to the district
attorney in the juvenile’s county of residence
and the department of education a copy of
the judgment and sentence;
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(iii) Felony cases in which the minor has
attained the age of seventeen (17) years. The
prosecuting attorney shall consider those
determinative factors set forth in W.S. 14-6237(b)(i) through (vi) prior to commencing an
action in the district court under this
paragraph;
(iv) Cases in which the minor has attained
the age of fourteen (14) years and is charged
with a violent felony as defined in W.S. 6-1104(a)(xii);
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(v) Cases in which a minor who has attained
the age of fourteen (14) years is charged with
a felony and has previously been adjudicated
as a delinquent under two (2) separately filed
juvenile petitions for acts which if committed
by an adult constitutes felonies.
The youth
completed
1,429
community
service hours
last year
14-6-203(g)
Except as provided by subsection (j) of
this section, all information, reports or records
made, received or kept by any municipal,
county or state officer or employee evidencing
any legal or administrative process or
disposition resulting from a minor’s
misconduct are confidential and subject to the
provisions of this act. The existence of the
information, reports or records or contents
thereof shall not be disclosed by any person
unless:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
Disclosure results from an action brought
or authorized by the district attorney in a
court of public record;
The person the records concern is under
eighteen (18) years of age and, in
conjunction with one (1) of his parents or
with the ratification of the court, authorizes
the disclosure;
The person the records concern is eighteen
(18) years of age or older and authorizes
the disclosure;
(iv)
The disclosure results from the information
being shared with or between designated
employees of any court, any law enforcement,
agency, any prosecutor’s office, any employee
of the victim services division within the office
of the attorney general, any probation office or
any employee of the department of family
services or the minor’s past or present school
district who has been designated to share the
information by the department of family
services or by the school district or anyone else
designated by the district attorney in
determining the appropriate court pursuant to
a single point of entry assessment under this
section.
(iv)
The disclosure results from the information
being shared with or between designated
employees of any court, any law enforcement,
agency, any prosecutor’s office, any employee
of the victim services division within the office
of the attorney general, any probation office or
any employee of the department of family
services or the minor’s past or present school
district who has been designated to share the
information by the department of family
services or by the school district or anyone else
designated by the district attorney in
determining the appropriate court pursuant to
a single point of entry assessment under this
section.
14-6-203(j)
Nothing contained in this act is construed
to require confidentiality of any matter, legal
record, identity or disposition pertaining to a
minor charged or processed though any
municipal or circuit court.
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Each county handles their Single Point of Entry
process differently depending upon their
resources and what avenue has the best
resources for that particular juvenile.
Some counties have Juvenile Diversion Programs,
some divert juveniles to Circuit Court, some have
probation in their Municipal Courts, etc.
Goal is to review the juvenile for their particular
needs and place that juvenile in the most
appropriate court/track, depending upon
juvenile’s needs and county’s resources.
Consistency is also considered.
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Screens Single Point of Entry through our Juvenile
Diversion Office and the County Attorney’s Office.
Have access to a number of databases to review a
juvenile’s criminal history, law enforcement contact,
and school records.
Initial screening conducted by Juvenile Diversion
Office to see if qualifies for Diversion Program.
If meets certain criteria, then forwarded to County
Attorney to review for Court involvement, whether
that be Municipal, Circuit, District or Juvenile Court.
County Attorney may then consult with parent,
school, DFS, law enforcement or others to determine
most appropriate Court for juvenile given needs and
services.
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Has developed criteria and screening to
review juveniles:
Prior Criminal History
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Law Enforcement Contacts
School Attendance and Grades
School Disciplinary Log
Parent Input
Law Enforcement Input
Family History
Age of Juvenile
DFS Reports
Prior Juvenile Court Involvement
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Tickets are separated for juveniles by law
enforcement and picked up by Juvenile
Diversion Clerk. Initial screening takes place
and tickets/reports go into one of four
categories:
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A. Qualifying Offenses: First time offenders who have a qualifying offense for
Juvenile Diversion are sent an invitation letter to join the Juvenile Diversion
Program. Some examples of qualifying offenses include:
Minor in Possession/Minor in Consumption
Use of a Controlled Substance
Larceny/Shoplifting
Breach of Peace
Destruction of Property
Battery (minor)
Interference with a Peace Officer
Unauthorized Use of Motor Vehicle (minor)
Dangerous Missiles
Some felony offenses. A juvenile will not be denied admission into the Juvenile
Diversion Program simply because he has committed a felony. If he is a first time
offender, and if the felony is a nonviolent one, based upon all of the facts and
circumstances of the case, including the family setting of the juvenile, that the
juvenile is appropriate for diversion by the discretion of the Juvenile Attorney, then
he may be offered diversion.
Others as deemed appropriate for the program.
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B. Early Age and Teen Intervention Children:
Out of control behaviors, truant children or
criminal offenses that are not charged due to
child’s age or the sufficiency of the evidence.
Referred through school or parent referral
Reviewed by Early Age and Teen Intervention
personnel to determine if appropriate for
program.
Those who violate the terms and conditions of
the program or are needing additional services or
more intensive services, are referred to the
County Attorney for possible CHINS petition.
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C. Non-qualifying Offenses: Some offenses do not qualify for Diversion due to the
nature of the charge, or because they have previously participated in Diversion or
are repeat offenders. Those cases are forwarded the County Attorney/Deputy
Attorney for review to determine what Court is most appropriate for that juvenile.
Non-qualifying offenses for Juvenile Diversion include:
• Repeat offenders, or those with a prior offense, who do not qualify for diversion
*In some instances, a prior minor citation, (for example, a smoking ticket, or a
minor traffic violation), may be overlooked to see if a second offense would
qualify for participation in the Juvenile Diversion Program.
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Violent Breach of Peace and violent Battery citations, all others will be screened on a case by case
basis
Eluding a Peace Officer
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle (resulting in an accident)
Sexual Assaults
Other Crimes of Violence
Offenses with significant restitution owing to a victim
Some Felony offenses
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D. Additional Offenses: In addition to those
offenses listed above, some offenses do not
qualify for Juvenile Diversion and are forwarded
to the Court of origin. Those offenses include:
Minor Traffic Offenses, including Failure to stop
at a Stop Sign, Speeding, Etc.
Smoking Tobacco Citations
Game and Fish Violations
Driving under the Influence
Reckless Driving with an Accident
Leaving the Scene of an Accident
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The Juvenile Diversion Data Entry Clerk
performs a records check or “names table” on
all juvenile citations and long form reports
that are screened through the Single Point of
Entry process.
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For the juveniles who qualify for the Juvenile
Diversion Program, an invitation is mailed to
them inviting them to participate in the
Juvenile Diversion Program. If a juvenile fails
to respond to the Juvenile Diversion
invitation, they are then screened by the
County Attorney/Deputy Attorney to
determine what Court is most appropriate.
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For those juveniles who do not qualify for
Juvenile Diversion or fail to respond to Juvenile
Diversion invitation, the following information is
forwarded to the County Attorney/Deputy
Attorney for review and consideration:
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Copy of citation or long form report
Juvenile Diversion review sheet
Juvenile’s background history (names table)
All relevant law enforcement reports
Juvenile school records
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The review sheet is then forwarded back to
the Juvenile Diversion Data Entry Clerk for
documenting into FACTS system. The
original citation is then forwarded to the
appropriate Court or a juvenile action is
initiated on behalf of the juvenile.
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All juvenile citations are delivered to County
Attorney’s Office.
Information reviewed by juvenile prosecutor
who determines if case should stay in
Municipal or Circuit Court, should be filed in
Juvenile Court or offered the Diversion
program.
All cases other than traffic, curfew or tobacco
cases are to be cited in Circuit Court rather
than Municipal Court.
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County Attorney’s Office reviews tickets to
determine if they will remain in current Court
for which the citation was issued.
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Carbon County has developed criteria when screening juveniles:
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A.
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Diversion Criteria:
Only juveniles who are charged with a misdemeanor offense are
eligible for pre-court diversion through Municipal or Circuit Court. The
Carbon County Attorney’s Office, in coordination with available diversion
programs may make exception to this general rule in any felony case.
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ii.
Juveniles may be recommended for pre-court diversion by the Carbon
County Attorney’s Office upon the recommendation of law enforcement.
The factors to be considered for pre-court diversion include, but are not
limited to:
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(1)
Age of the juvenile: Juveniles of any age are eligible for pre-court diversion.
(Juveniles under the age of 14 are to be strongly considered for diversion to
avoid early system involvement.)
Nature of the offense.
Residence of the juvenile within Carbon County.
History of offenses or law enforcement contacts: Generally, only first time
offenders are considered for pre-court diversion.
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(2)
(3)
(4)
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B.
Circuit and Municipal Court Criteria:
Juveniles cited for misdemeanor violations into the Municipal
Court may be referred to the Circuit Court when the juvenile is
charged with a misdemeanor ordinance violation and the offense
resulted in personal injury and/or property damage that may
require an order of restitution:
First offense status offenses will generally be handled within the
jurisdiction in which they occur. However, copies of runaway
citations and truancy citations will be forwarded to the Carbon
County Attorney’s Office for data gathering purposes.
Generally, all offenses enumerated above and all other
misdemeanor juvenile violations that occur within municipalities
will be cited into their respective Municipal Court. Those
occurring within the county or towns without Municipal Courts
will be cited into Circuit Court.
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C. District Court Criteria: All felony offenses will be forwarded
to and
will be processed by the Carbon County Attorney.
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(i) Juveniles cited for misdemeanor violations into the
Municipal Court and/or Circuit Court may also be referred to the
District Court when one or more of the following criteria is present:
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 (1)
The juvenile is charged with a misdemeanor but the offense
resulted in personal injury and/or property damage that may fall short of
a felony or high misdemeanor charge.
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(2) The juvenile is charged with a misdemeanor involving the
following offenses:
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A. Domestic Violence
B. Sexual Battery
C. Cruelty to Animals
D. Assault on Elderly or Handicapped
E. Child Endangering
◦ (3) The juvenile has Two (2) or more previous violations in any of the
following areas:
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Possession and/or Use of a Controlled Substance
 Alcohol Related Offenses
 Violence and Tumultuous Acts
 Habitual Running Away
 Habitual Truancy
◦ (4) The juvenile needs services that cannot be offered at the lower court
level including but not limited to out of home placement, intensive
supervision, psychiatric services or evaluation services, in-patient services,
etc.
◦ (5) The juvenile is currently on State Probation or under the jurisdiction of
the District Court.
◦ (6) The juvenile has a history with law enforcement or other judicial
jurisdictions outside Carbon County.
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When a resident of Crook County, under the age of
18, or over 18 and still enrolled in high school, is
charged with a violation of the law, the county
attorney reviews the juvenile and his violation with
the “single point of entry” committee, which consists
of the county attorney, deputy county attorney,
Wyoming DFS probation officer, and the administrator
of the Crook County Community Juvenile Services.
Upon preliminary review of juvenile and his record, a
recommendation is made whether to refer the
juvenile to the diversion program. If preliminary
review shows not appropriate for diversion,
recommendations are made that the citation be filed
in a court of jurisdiction within the county. (Circuit,
Juvenile, or Municipal Court).
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Meets every Wednesday morning.
Present at meeting is DFS, school district,
DOC, Mercer House, Diversion Program, and
District Attorney’s Office.
Make determination which Court or
disposition is most appropriate.
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All citations are screened once a week
Team that reviews includes DFS, School
Resource Officer, County Attorney, and
County probation.
Grades, history, etc. are considered when
determining if Diversion will be offered or
which Court to place the juvenile in.
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Committee meets every Monday morning.
Participants include School Resource Officers,
DFS probation supervisor & CPS supervisor,
Juvenile Justice Probation Officers (diversion,
truancy, misdemeanors, & Juvenile Drug Court).
Review each report and discuss juvenile, school
situation, home life, to determine which Court is
most appropriate.
Municipal court primarily traffic court and most
juvenile citations are routed through Circuit
Court.
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