Archive

• The Court’s Obligation to Determine Disposition in a Delinquency Matter

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on June 25, 2024 at 10:28 am and is filed under Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law.

  Is the court bound to order a certain disposition in a delinquency matter when the juvenile and the prosecutor agree to that disposition as part of an agreement? The short answer is no. The Juvenile Code requires the court to engage in certain procedures, to consider certain factors, and to order disposition in accord with certain parameters when developing and ordering a delinquency disposition. The mandates on the court cannot be delegated to the parties and they are not optional. This post describes these mandates and explores the implications for dispositional outcomes that are agreed upon by the juvenile and the prosecutor. Continue Reading

• Determining Disposition Level in Delinquency Cases

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on April 25, 2023 at 9:29 am and is filed under Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Law, Uncategorized.

  Determination of the correct disposition level available in a delinquency case requires a four-step process.

  1. Identify the offense for which disposition is being entered (hereinafter referred to as the “disposition offense”).
  2. Identify the offense classification for the disposition offense.
  3. Calculate the juvenile’s delinquency history level.
  4. Use the disposition chart to identify the corresponding level or levels for the case.

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