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A 15-year-old in Aberdeen is walking home from a friend's house when a police officer stops him and asks where he has been. Most stops like this end in a few minutes. If one turns into an arrest, South Dakota has specific rules about who gets told, which court hears the case, and whether the record follows him later. Here they are.
Who goes to juvenile court
According to the South Dakota Unified Judicial System (the state court system), juvenile court generally handles offenses by a person who was under 18 at the time. An act that would be a crime for an adult is a 'delinquency' (a juvenile offense) if the person was between 10 and 18. Traffic misdemeanors and petty offenses stay in adult court, in the Magistrate Division.
Some behavior is not a crime but breaks a rule that applies only to young people, such as truancy (skipping school), underage drinking, or running away. That can bring a young person to court as a Child in Need of Supervision, called CHINS. A child under 10 who commits a criminal act can also be brought to court as a CHINS.
When police take a child into temporary custody, the officer must tell the child's parents, guardian, or custodian without unnecessary delay, and tell them about the right to a prompt court hearing (SDCL 26-7A-15).
When a case moves to adult court
South Dakota has a firm rule at 16. A young person aged 16 or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, 1, or 2 felony (the most serious felony classes) is tried in circuit court as an adult. The young person can ask for a transfer hearing to argue for staying in juvenile court, but the law starts from the presumption that adult court is in the public's interest.
For other felony charges, a judge can move a case to adult court only after a transfer hearing. The judge looks at factors such as how serious and violent the offense was, whether it was against a person or property, and the young person's past record.
Your rights, and sealing a record
In In re Gault (1967), the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a young person in a delinquency case has the right to notice of the charges, the right to a lawyer (appointed free if the family cannot pay), and the right to remain silent, just like an adult.
In South Dakota, a juvenile court can seal a delinquency record, meaning it is closed from public view. The young person or a parent can ask by petition, but only one year after the case fully ends. At a hearing, the judge must find that there has been no new delinquency case, that no serious case is pending, and that the young person has been rehabilitated.
Curfews: we did not find a statewide youth curfew in South Dakota law. Check your own city's ordinances.
Getting a lawyer in South Dakota
If you are stopped, stay calm, keep your hands where the officer can see them, and do not run. You can say you want to stay silent and that you want a parent and a lawyer.
If a case is filed, ask for a lawyer right away. The state courts use a form called UJS-224A, the Juvenile Application for Court-Appointed Attorney. It is on the Unified Judicial System website (ujs.sd.gov), and the clerk of courts in your county can help you find it.
Tandaan ito
- South Dakota juvenile court covers offenses by people aged 10 to 17; traffic misdemeanors and petty offenses stay in adult court.
- At 16 or older, a charge in the most serious felony classes goes to adult court unless a transfer hearing moves it back.
- A juvenile record can be sealed by petition one year after the case fully ends.
- To ask for a free lawyer, use form UJS-224A from the state court website.
Mga pinagmulan
- South Dakota Unified Judicial System: Criminal Law Resources (bubukas sa bagong tab)
- South Dakota Legislature: SDCL 26-11-3.1, Transfer hearing for a child charged with a felony (bubukas sa bagong tab)
- South Dakota Legislature: SDCL 26-7A-115, Sealing records involving a delinquent child (bubukas sa bagong tab)
- Legal Information Institute: In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967) (bubukas sa bagong tab)
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