Archive

• Legal Questions Arising from Inclusion of Young Children in Delinquency Jurisdiction

  This entry was contributed by Jacquelyn Greene on February 23, 2021 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Juvenile Justice.

  Children in North Carolina can be tried as respondents in delinquency proceedings for their actions beginning at age 6. The inclusion of young children in delinquency jurisdiction, some of whom may be young enough to remain staunch believers in Santa and to eagerly await a visit from the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny, raises significant legal questions in light of their developmental maturity. Those questions include:

  • whether the infancy defense should play a role in delinquency proceedings?
  • whether the capacity standard used in delinquency proceedings should explicitly account for developmental immaturity?
  • at what point do children develop the skills necessary to function as a competent respondent?

  A new Juvenile Law Bulletin, Including Young Children in Delinquency Jurisdiction: Issues of Infancy and Capacity, is now available and discusses these issues in-depth. This blog provides some highlights of the bulletin. Continue Reading

• Incapacity to Proceed and Juveniles

  This entry was contributed by LaToya Powell on October 13, 2017 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Juvenile Justice.

  Two days ago, Franklin County prosecutors dismissed a murder charge against an 18-year-old male who allegedly admitted to decapitating his mother because “he felt like it.” The case made national headlines back in March when it was reported that the teen emerged from the home holding a butcher knife in one hand and his mother’s head in the other when officers arrived on the scene. According to this article, the trial court recently found that the teen lacked capacity to proceed after he was examined by mental health professionals at Central Regional Hospital in Butner. This post discusses what it means for a juvenile to lack capacity to proceed and why it not only bars a criminal prosecution, but also, prohibits delinquency proceedings against a juvenile.

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