New Law on Juvenile Capacity to Proceed

The current law that governs a juvenile’s capacity to proceed in a delinquency matter matches part of the criminal law that governs a defendant’s capacity to proceed. The Juvenile Code expressly incorporates G.S. 15A‑1001, ‑1002, and ‑1003—the criminal provisions that establish a capacity standard and establish procedure to raise and determine capacity to proceed. G.S. 7B-2401. The criminal provisions that address safeguarding the defendant to return for trial should the defendant subsequently become capable of proceeding and return of the defendant for trial upon gaining capacity are notably absent from the Juvenile Code. Beginning with offenses committed on January 1, 2025, the Juvenile Code will contain new laws, different from the criminal law, that establish a juvenile capacity standard, establish procedures to raise and determine capacity, and create new procedures for remediation of incapacity. This blog summarizes the new juvenile capacity standard and outlines the procedure to raise and determine capacity under the new law. More information on criminal procedure related to capacity to proceed can be found at https://benchbook.sog.unc.edu/criminal/capacity-proceed. The new law includes the following provisions. Raising Capacity The question of the juvenile’s capacity to proceed can be raised at any time. As is the case under current law, the prosecutor, the juvenile, the juvenile’s attorney, or the court can raise the question of capacity at any time during a delinquency proceeding. G.S. 7B-2401.2(a). The moving party must submit a motion detailing the specific conduct leading them to question the juvenile’s capacity. If the juvenile is under the age of [...]