Police stops and juvenile court in Illinois: under 18, the two questions, and a statewide curfew

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.

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.

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.