Archive

• New Bulletin on Delinquency Jurisdiction over Juveniles and their Parents, Guardians, and Custodians

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on February 24, 2026 at 9:38 am and is filed under Jurisdiction, Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law.

  I am happy to share a new resource with you: Delinquency Law: Original Juvenile Jurisdiction and Juvenile Jurisdiction over Parents, Guardians, and Custodians. This new Juvenile Law Bulletin (1) describes the current law of original juvenile jurisdiction; (2) provides a guide to the law of original juvenile jurisdiction based on offense dates between 2019 and 2024; and (3) describes juvenile jurisdiction over parents, guardians, and custodians of juvenile respondents in delinquency proceedings. Selected highlights from the Bulletin are provided below. Continue Reading

• The Evolving Law of Juvenile Jurisdiction

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on July 22, 2025 at 9:58 am and is filed under Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law.

  The law that governs which cases begin under juvenile jurisdiction changed three times between 2019 and 2025. Each change applies to offenses beginning on and after the effective date of the legislation and is impacted by subsequent changes. This blog pulls the different changes together in one place, providing the quick reference chart below to explain which cases begin under juvenile jurisdiction and which cases begin under criminal jurisdiction. Continue Reading

• What is the Maximum Commitment Period That Must be Noticed at Disposition in a Delinquency Case?

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on April 23, 2024 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law.

  When the court issues an order of disposition committing a juvenile to a youth development center (YDC), that commitment is almost always required to be for an indefinite period of time that lasts at least six months. G.S.7B-2513(a). The court cannot order an end date for these commitments. However, the court is required to determine the maximum period the juvenile may remain committed before an extension would have to be filed or the juvenile must be released, and to notify the juvenile of that determination at the time disposition is ordered. G.S.7B-2513(a4). How should this maximum period of commitment be calculated? And is every commitment eligible for an extension? This post addresses these questions. Continue Reading

• Raise the Age Legislative Changes

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on October 26, 2021 at 8:22 am and is filed under Jurisdiction, Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law.

  Parts I – IV of Session Law 2021-123 make changes to the statutory structure that raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include most offenses committed at ages 16 and 17. The most significant changes relate to new prosecutorial discretion to decline to transfer cases in which the most serious charge is a Class D – Class G felony and the ability to extend the length of jurisdiction when a juvenile is committed to a Youth Development Center (YDC) for a Class A – Class E felony committed at age 16 or 17. The raise the age changes in S.L. 2021-123 are detailed below. Continue Reading