Le texte complet de cette page n'a pas encore été traduit, il est donc affiché en anglais ci-dessous. Le résumé, les libellés et les informations de sécurité ci-dessus sont traduits.
A 16-year-old walking home in Aurora at 11:30 on a Wednesday night is stopped by an officer. Three Illinois laws are already in play before anyone says a word: the statewide curfew, the Juvenile Court Act's rules on questioning minors, and the rule that puts anyone under 18 in juvenile court rather than adult court.
Who goes to juvenile court, and the narrow path to adult court
Illinois's Juvenile Court Act says that, with limited exceptions, no one who was under 18 at the time of the alleged offense may be prosecuted under the state's criminal laws. Juvenile court is the default, and a juvenile case is called a 'delinquency' case rather than a criminal one.
The main exception is automatic transfer: a minor who was at least 16 and is charged with first degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, or aggravated battery with a firearm is prosecuted in adult criminal court. Other transfers require a judge's decision after a hearing, so a 15-year-old accused of shoplifting in Springfield is not going to adult court.
The rights a young person has in that juvenile courtroom come from In re Gault (1967), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a minor facing possible confinement is entitled to notice of the charges, a lawyer, the chance to question witnesses, and protection against being forced to confess.
Questioning: the two questions and the call to a parent
When police take a minor into custody in Illinois, the officer must immediately make a reasonable attempt to notify the parent or the person legally responsible for the minor.
Before a custodial interrogation (questioning while you are not free to leave), a statement from someone who was under 18 at the time of the offense is presumed inadmissible unless the officer first reads a plain-language version of the rights, all the way through, and then asks two questions and waits for an answer to each: 'Do you want to have a lawyer?' and 'Do you want to talk to me?' If you hear them, the honest answer to the first one is usually yes.
Records that erase themselves, and a curfew that is state law
Illinois erases many juvenile records automatically. Each year, on or before January 1, the Illinois State Police and local police must expunge (permanently remove) qualifying juvenile arrest records that never led to charges. And when a delinquency petition is dismissed, a minor is found not delinquent, supervision ends successfully, or the case involved what would be a minor misdemeanor for an adult, the court must order the court and police records expunged on its own, with the job finished within 60 business days.
The curfew here is not a city ordinance. The Illinois Criminal Code sets curfew hours for anyone under 17: 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights, and 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The law lists defenses, including being with a parent, running a direct errand for a parent, going to or from work, an emergency, an official school or religious activity, and exercising First Amendment rights. Before writing a ticket, the officer must ask your age and your reason for being out.
Finding a defender and what to do first
Public defense in Illinois is organized by county. Each county's public defender office represents young people in delinquency cases when the family cannot pay for a lawyer. Cook County's office has a Juvenile Justice Division and a Guide to Juvenile Court on its website; in other counties, search the county name with 'public defender' or call the circuit clerk's office and ask.
If a case starts, three steps matter most. Write down the date and whether the two questions above were asked. Go to every court date. And ask the defender about expungement at the end, because even automatic erasures are worth confirming in writing.
We could not confirm a single statewide hotline for juvenile defense, so the county public defender is the right first call.
À retenir
- Anyone under 18 at the time of the offense goes to Illinois juvenile court, except a 16- or 17-year-old charged with first degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, or aggravated battery with a firearm.
- Before custodial questioning, police must read simplified rights and ask 'Do you want to have a lawyer?' and 'Do you want to talk to me?'; they must also try to reach a parent.
- Many juvenile records are expunged automatically, either each January 1 by police or by court order within 60 business days after a case ends well.
- Illinois has a statewide curfew for anyone under 17 (11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights, 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. weekends), with work, parent, and school-activity defenses.
Sources
- Illinois General Assembly: 705 ILCS 405/5-130, Excluded jurisdiction (automatic transfer) (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Illinois General Assembly: 705 ILCS 405/5-401.5, When statements by minor may be used (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Illinois General Assembly: 720 ILCS 5/12C-60, Curfew (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell): In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) (s'ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
Cet article donne des informations éducatives générales, pas un conseil juridique personnalisé. KidsKnowRights n'est pas un cabinet d'avocats, et lire cet article ne crée pas de relation avocat-client. Les lois varient selon l'État, l'âge et les circonstances, et elles changent avec le temps. Pour un conseil sur une situation réelle, adresse-toi à un avocat agréé ou à un organisme d'aide juridique.