There are two types of legal proceedings in the juvenile court process---informal proceedings and formal proceedings. In the informal process, juvenile Probation Officers have court-granted authority to conduct hearings and make dispositions involving cases. Juvenile Probation Officers make every effort to maintain juveniles in the informal arena, however, some cases, such as ones involving a felony charge, and ones where multiple misdemeanors have been committed, may be referred to district court and thus initiate the formal court process.
1. Informal Handling of Cases
At an informal hearing, the youth and his/her parent or guardian appear before a Juvenile Probation Officer. They are first advised of the charge (s) and then advised of their basic legal rights. These rights include the right to:
The officer next asks of the youth if the charge (s) is/are true. If the youth admits to the charge and their version of events coincides with the details of the offense listed in the law enforcement report, the Juvenile Probation Officer can decide whether or not to handle the charge in an "informal" manner. The Juvenile Probation Officer will decide on an avenue to take which is in the best interest of the youth. Among the things the Juvenile Probation Officer may order include, but are not limited to are:
Again, Youth Court makes every effort to maintain a youth's case within the informal process. However, if the youth denies the charge, the Juvenile Probation Officer has no other alternative but to make a referral to the County Attorney's Office to determine legal sufficiency for filing a petition in "Formal Court" to have their case adjudicated (*). If the youth fails to meet the conditions established in the informal process, they also stand a chance of having the case referred to district court.
Adjudication (def: if a youth pleads guilty to or is found to be guilty of a charge he/she may be adjudged {adjudicated} to be "delinquent" or a "youth in need of supervision") at this level means a youth may have a formal court record up to age 28.
NOTE: (Due to a recent legislative mandate, the Juvenile Probation Officer must make a referral to the County Attorney's Office if a youth has had three misdemeanor offenses or two felony offenses within the calendar year).
2. The Formal Court Process
When a referral is made to the County Attorney's Office for filing in District Court, the County Attorney reviews the allegations in order to determine legal sufficiency i.e., is there enough evidence that supports the current charge. If the County Attorney determines the evidence is sound and supports the charge, a petition is filed citing the charges. The youth and parents are summoned to court and will appear before a District Court judge. If a private attorney is not secured, an attorney is provided the youth through the Public Defender’s Office. At the "initial appearance" before the Judge, a Juvenile Probation Officer (generally, a Hearings Officer), County Attorney, Public Defender, the youth and parents are present. The judge advises the youth of his rights, listens to the allegations, and afterwards, will ask the youth and his attorney if they are ready to enter a plea.
If the youth and their attorney decide to plead guilty to the charges, the Juvenile Probation Officer and County Attorney will make recommendations to the court concerning the disposition (final decision). Most often, prior to disposition, time will be allotted to prepare a report to the court further detailing the youth's criminal and social history as well as recommendations from juvenile probation (see below).
If the youth denies the charge, then further hearings will be set either for trial or for further case status review.
3. Disposition and Adjudication
If a youth is found to have committed the alleged offense through trial or hearing before a District Court Judge, then a "dispositional hearing" is set. The Juvenile Probation Officer will write and submit a report to the court detailing the youth's background and relevant social history concerns. This report will also contain a recommendation for disposition to the court.
Some of the dispositions used in the formal court proceeding are as follows:
Consent Decree -Deferred prosecution in which a youth is placed on probation with specific terms and rules. If the youth successfully completes this decree, the charges will be dismissed at the end of the probation period. The youth is not adjudicated at this time.
Formal Probation-The youth is placed on a predetermined probationary period with specific terms and rules. The youth is adjudicated to be delinquent at this time.
Commitment to the Department of Corrections- The youth is committed to the Department of Corrections for an out-of-home placement at a correctional facility. In Montana, those facilities are the Pine Hills School for Boys and the 5 C’s Correctional Facility for Girls in Idaho.
Suspended Commitment-The youth is committed to the Department of Corrections and this commitment is suspended with the understanding that the youth will be on probation with specific terms and rules. The youth is adjudicated to be delinquent at this time.
* The possibility exists that an out-of-home placement may be ordered in conjunction with either of the prior two dispositions.
Upon release from a correctional facility, juveniles are supervised by Missoula Youth Court Officers under terms of conditional release.