Livingston County - 44th Circuit Court - Family Division

What happens when a juvenile is charged in adult court or waived to adult court?
A COMPARISON OF DESIGNATED CASES AND WAIVER CASES
There are now five options available to prosecuting attorneys when a juvenile commits a criminal offense. The prosecutor may file a delinquency petition against the juvenile in the 44th Circuit Court - Family Division. If the juvenile is found responsible for the offense following a plea or trial, he or she may be required to remain under the jurisdiction of the Family Division until age 19, with possible extension of jurisdiction until age 21. Because delinquency proceedings are not criminal proceedings, the juvenile who is found responsible for an offense in a delinquency case may not be sentenced as an adult. Because it has determined that there are juveniles who will not benefit from the services available in the juvenile justice system, the Legislature has made available to prosecuting attorneys four different types of proceedings that can lead to a criminal (adult) conviction for a juvenile. These are prosecutor-designated proceedings, court designated proceedings, automatic waiver proceedings and traditional wavier proceedings as briefly described below:
Prosecutor-designated proceedings	Juvenile must be any age under 17 when the offense occurs. In prosecutor-designated cases, no hearing is held prior to trial to determine whether to try the juvenile in criminal proceedings. The judicial decision to sentence the juvenile as an adult or to impose a juvenile disposition is not made until after conviction. The Family Division judge may impose a juvenile disposition or, if the judge determines that it is in the best interest of the public, sentence the juvenile as an adult. The court may also delay imposition of an adult sentence. **NOTE: If a "specified juvenile violation" is alleged, the prosecuting attorney may designate the case for criminal trial.
Court-designated proceedings	Juvenile must be any age under 17 when the offense occurs. In court-designated cases, a judge or attorney-referee must hold a hearing to determine whether to try the juvenile in criminal proceedings. In making the decision, the Family Division judge must consider the best interests of both the juvenile and the public. Following conviction, the Family Division judge may impose a juvenile disposition or, if the judge determines that it is in the best interest of the public, sentence the juvenile as an adult. The court may also delay imposition of an adult sentence. **NOTE: if a non-specified juvenile violation is alleged, the Family Division judge must decide whether to designate the case for criminal trial.
Automatic Waiver proceedings	Juvenile must be older than 14 but younger than 17 when the offense occurs. In "automatic-waiver" cases, no hearing is held prior to trial to determine whether to try the juvenile in criminal proceedings. For certain serious offenses, the juvenile must be sentenced as an adult following conviction. For other offenses, the decision to sentence the juvenile as an adult or place the juvenile on probation and commit the juvenile as a public ward is made by a Criminal Division judge. The judge must consider only the best interest of the public in making that decision.
Traditional Waiver proceedings	Juvenile must be older than 14 but younger than 17 when the offense occurs. In "traditional-waiver" cases, a two-phase hearing may be held in the Family Division to determine whether the juvenile will be tried and sentenced as an adult in the Criminal Division. The Family Division judge must consider the best interests of both the juvenile and the public during the second phase of the waiver hearing. If convicted following waiver, the juvenile must be sentenced as an adult.

What happens when a juvenile is charged in adult court or waived to adult court?