The Juvenile Court System

Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. Online Lawyer Referral Service information and a fill-in form is available. Or you may contact the service by phone: The number to call from the Portland area is 503-684-3763 or toll-free from anywhere else in Oregon, 1-800-452-7636.

The following information regarding the juvenile court system is brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is general legal information intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.

Oregon law says that a juvenile is anyone under the age of eighteen who has not been legally emancipated. Emancipated means that the juvenile has many of the rights and responsibilities of an adult and becomes subject to adult criminal court jurisdiction if arrested. Parents no longer have to support an emancipated person. An emancipated juvenile does not gain the right to vote or the right to purchase liquor or smoking materials. Persons seeking information on emancipation should contact a lawyer or the Juvenile Court.

To become emancipated, the juvenile must be sixteen or older, must pay an application fee to the Juvenile Court, and must be mature and able to support himself or herself without help from parents. Once an application for emancipation is filed, the Juvenile Court will tell the juvenile's parents and set a hearing before a judge who will decide whether or not emancipation is in the juvenile's best interest.

The Juvenile Court has authority over juveniles who commit acts that would be crimes if committed by adults. Some more serious crimes committed by juveniles are now automatically transferred to adult court. The Juvenile Court also works with juveniles who misbehave in some ways that would not be criminal if done by an adult. Examples are juveniles who run away from home, who are beyond the control of their parents, or whose behavior, condition or circumstances endanger their own welfare or the welfare of others. These offenses are also called "status offenses." Examples of status offenses are under-age drinking and curfew violations.

The Juvenile Court also has authority over juveniles who are dependent or have been abandoned or abused by parents. In circumstances of abuse, abandonment or neglect, juveniles may be taken from the home temporarily or permanently. For more information, read the Tel-Law topic entitled Foster Care and Termination of Parental Rights.

Parents who want the help of the Juvenile Court can contact the court directly about their child's behavior. If you wish to do this, call the general information number of the juvenile court and ask for an appointment with an intake counselor. Most contact with the Juvenile Court begins with a call from the police after a young person has been taken into custody for allegedly committing a criminal-like act or for a status offense. The arresting officer can take the juvenile to the juvenile's home, the county's Juvenile Detention Facility, or a local intake center, away from adult prisoners. If the juvenile is held, the parents will be notified and a petition must be filed by the complaining party within 36 hours. Also within 36 hours or the next judicial day, the juvenile and parents will appear in court at a hearing. At this hearing, a judge decides whether to release the juvenile, and if so, to whom, or to continue to hold the juvenile until a full hearing or trial can take place.

Whether or a juvenile is released by the police, taken to detention, released from detention, or held to wait for a trial, police reports will go to the Juvenile Court. The court's counseling staff will review the charge and the juvenile's record and decide how the matter should be handled. The matter may be handled formally or informally.

If the matter is handled informally, the juvenile may receive a warning; a referral to another community agency that deals with juvenile problems; or an accountability agreement. If the juvenile court counselor decides to handle the case formally, the counselor or district attorney will file a petition, or formal charge, with the court. The filing of a petition means that the truth of the charge will be decided by a judge or referee.

A juvenile charged with a criminal-like act has the same constitutional rights as an adult criminal defendant, except for the rights to bail and jury trial. All juvenile cases are tried before a judge or referee. The juvenile has the right to remain silent, to be represented by a lawyer, to have a trial at which the witnesses against the young person must appear and give evidence, and to have the charge proved beyond a reasonable doubt. If the juvenile and family cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed by the court.

If the juvenile admits to the charge in court, or the charge is proven at trial, the judge will then consider "disposition," which is similar to sentencing in adult court. The counselor, the district attorney, the parents, the juvenile and the juvenile's lawyer may make recommendations to the judge. Formal disposition of criminal-type offenses may include probation in the juvenile's own home under certain conditions, or placement in a foster or group home, a youth correctional facility or state training school. A juvenile convicted of a status offense cannot be placed in a training school. Status offenses are not punishable by any type of incarceration.

In some cases, a juvenile age 15 or older will automatically be transferred to adult court for disposition. Offenses requiring transfer to adult court include murder, manslaughter, some assaults, kidnapping, rape and sodomy.

Most juvenile court records may be destroyed, or "expunged", after two years, or in some special cases, after less time. Most offenses of a sexual nature cannot be destroyed. More information about the expungement of juvenile records can be obtained from the Juvenile Court.

This information is from the Oregon State Bar's Tel-law service, a collection of recorded legal information messages prepared by the lawyers of Oregon. In addition to being online, the Tel-law service is accessible by telephone at 503-620-3000 or toll-free in Oregon only, 1-800-452-4776. A touch tone phone allows direct access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To receive a free Tel-law brochure listing the subjects available call 503-620-0222, ext. 0.