Police and juvenile court in Vermont: the Family Division, age 19, and automatic sealing

Vermont law says most cases about an offense committed before age 19 start in the Family Division. On July 1, 2027, that line moves up to age 20. For a young person who was over 16 and under 19, police must cite the case to the Family Division for most offenses. If the State's Attorney (the county prosecutor) wants the case in adult court instead, the prosecutor must write down why that is in the interest of justice.

There are exceptions. A short list of very serious crimes, including murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, and sexual assault, starts in the Criminal Division (adult court) when the young person was 14 or older. Even then, the case can move back to the Family Division or be treated as a youthful offender case. The Family Division can also send a case to adult court after a hearing, for example a felony by a 16-, 17-, or 18-year-old.

In re Gault (1967) is the U.S. Supreme Court case that decided young people in juvenile court have core due process rights, including notice of the charges, a lawyer, and the right not to incriminate themselves. Vermont writes those protections into its own law. A child in a delinquency case (a juvenile case about breaking the law) does not have to be a witness against themselves. A statement that could not be used in adult court cannot be used against the child, and an out-of-court confession alone is not enough to prove the case without other strong evidence.

If an officer wants to question you, you can say calmly that you want a lawyer and a parent before you answer. We did not confirm a Vermont statute that requires police to call a parent before questioning, so do not count on it happening on its own. Ask.

Vermont keeps juvenile court and police files separate from adult records, and they are not open to the public unless the case moved to adult court. Sealing, meaning the record is locked away as if the case never happened, is automatic for most delinquency cases. The court must seal the files two years after the person's final discharge, unless the State's Attorney shows a new serious conviction or the court finds the person has not been rehabilitated. Once a record is sealed, the court and police must answer that no record exists.

We did not find a statewide youth curfew in the Vermont laws we read. Where curfews exist, they are town or city rules, so check your own town's ordinances.