Alaska Court System Self-Help

When a person under 18 is accused of a crime, he or she usually enter the juvenile justice system. These are called “juvenile delinquency” cases.

For serious offenses like murder or sexual assault, 16 and 17 year olds go straight to adult court. The prosecutor may also request that some youth offenders have their cases heard as if they were adults.

Juveniles have the same constitutional rights as adults, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. But there are differences in the processes:

• The juvenile justice system emphasizes rehabilitation and the youth offender learning responsibility and is less adversarial than the adult system.
• Juvenile cases are mostly confidential. The confidentiality of juvenile cases and the emphasis on rehabilitation sometimes leads to the impression that nothing happens to juvenile offenders. In fact, juvenile probation officers and courts have many choices for a proper outcome of the case.
• Who can attend the hearings is very limited. The court does not allow the public or reporters to attend most proceedings. Juvenile crime victims can attend all hearings that the juvenile may attend.
• The language used in juvenile cases is different than that used in adult criminal cases.
• If juveniles later commit crimes as adults, the prosecutor may use their juvenile records against them.

The Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is part of the Department of Health and Social Services that handles most criminal cases and some civil matters involving juveniles. When a juvenile commits a crime, DJJ assigns a juvenile probation officer to the case. The probation officer is the first point of contact for an offender following an arrest by police for most offenses.

However, state and local prosecutors handle traffic offenses, fish and game violations, parks and recreation violations, underage drinking, and underage purchase of tobacco.

Yes, the juvenile court may move (also called waive) the case to adult court in the following situations:

• 16 and 17 year-olds who commit unclassified and Class A felonies which are the most serious crimes like murder, sexual assault and 1st degree assault go straight to adult court.
• a prosecutor may request the case go to adult court if:
  • the juvenile, even under age 16, has committed a particularly serious crime,
  • the juvenile has committed a number of crimes, or
  • it seems unlikely that the juvenile can be rehabilitated before age 20.

The judge has to approve the case moving to adult court for anyone younger than 16, or if the crime is other than an unclassified or Class A felony. This is called a “discretionary waiver.”

The superior court will try the juvenile as an adult and, if convicted, the juvenile will serve time in an adult prison.

The juvenile can hire a lawyer at any time. The juvenile is entitled to a lawyer at public expense once charged and determined to not have enough money to pay for a private lawyer. The court appoints a lawyer from the Public Defender Agency to represent a juvenile charged with committing a crime. The lawyer’s role is to defend the juvenile and advocate for what the juvenile wants. The lawyer does not represent the juvenile’s family or advocate for what the family wants. Sometimes, this can be difficult for the family if the juvenile and family want different things to happen.

At adjudication, the State of Alaska is represented by a lawyer from the District Attorney’s office (DA) if the case goes to trial. The DA’s role is to prove the charges against the juvenile.

Yes, the records are confidential until a court orders them open.

Police, military, and government officials may inspect them with consent of the court. If the juvenile completes the terms of the sentence, and has no more trouble with the law, the adjudication of delinquency will remain confidential.

The juvenile or their parents can sign a release giving someone permission to review their juvenile delinquency records. Employer may ask for releases to understand someone’s juvenile delinquency or criminal history.

It depends on the conduct committed by the juvenile. An adult who carries a concealed firearm may be charged with a crime if he or she was found delinquent as a juvenile because of conduct that would be a felony if committed by an adult.