Arrested under 18 in Maine: the parent-first questioning rule, bind-over, and sealed records

When a juvenile is arrested in Maine, the officer must tell a parent or legal custodian without unnecessary delay and say where the young person is. Then comes a rule many states do not have. No officer may question an arrested juvenile until a legal custodian has been told about the arrest and either is present for the questioning or agrees that it can go ahead without them.

There is one narrow exception. If the officer tried and could not reach a custodian, the officer may ask about crime that is still happening or about to happen. That is all.

The U.S. Supreme Court set the national floor in In re Gault (1967), which held that a young person in juvenile court has the right to notice of the charges, to a lawyer, and to stay silent. Maine's parent rule sits on top of that. You can still say, calmly, that you want your parent and a lawyer before you answer anything.

Maine's Juvenile Court handles most cases for anyone who was at least 11 and under 18 when the act happened. For murder, felony murder, and manslaughter, there is no lower age: anyone under 18 is covered. What counts is your age on the day of the act, so an adult charged with something done at 17 still starts in Juvenile Court.

A case can move to adult court through a bind-over hearing (a separate hearing where a judge decides whether to give up juvenile court's power over the case). This is possible only for murder or a Class A, B, or C crime, and only if the prosecutor asks. The judge must find probable cause (good reason to believe the crime happened and you did it). The judge then weighs how serious the crime is, who you are, public safety, and what juvenile court could do instead.

Usually the state must prove adult court is right. For a short list of the most serious charges, such as murder and Class A robbery, the young person must prove it is not.

Maine juvenile case records are confidential by default. Some petitions become public, such as a murder or Class A charge against someone 13 or older once a judge finds probable cause.

For most lower-level juvenile crimes, sealing (hiding the record from public view) is automatic. Once you finish your disposition (the juvenile version of a sentence) and the court gets notice, it must order the records sealed within 5 business days.

For murder, a Class A, B, or C crime, or operating under the influence, you must ask the court. You can file once 3 years have passed since discharge, with no new adjudication or conviction and nothing pending. After sealing, you may answer most questions about it, from anyone other than courts and police agencies, as if it never happened.