Juvenile Justice Case Compendium

Facts: The court entered a Level 2 disposition after adjudicating the juvenile delinquent. The dispositional order included placement of the juvenile into the temporary custody of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services (CCDS). CCDS timely appealed the part of the dispositional order...

Facts: The juvenile was charged with misdemeanor assault and denied the allegation. The court denied her attorney’s motion to dismiss after the close of the State’s evidence. The juvenile’s attorney then called the juvenile to the stand. The court did not ask the juvenile any questions or engage...

Facts: A.O. was charged with common law robbery. The victim testified that he could not identify A.O. as the person who took his wallet because of an eye injury that the victim sustained at the time of the robbery. A.O.’s attorney moved to dismiss the charge at the close of the State’s evidence...

Facts: The trial court was instructed, on remand (State v. Benitez, 258 N.C. App. 491, 813 S.E.2d 268 (2018)), to conduct a review of the totality of the circumstances of the juvenile’s statements to law enforcement to determine if the juvenile knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights...

Facts: The juvenile, “Sophie,” was adjudicated delinquent for communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property in violation of G.S. 14-277.6 after making a statement, in the presence of four classmates, that she was going to blow up the school. She was also adjudicated delinquent...

Facts: The defendant was charged with two class H felonies (felonious breaking or entering and larceny after breaking or entering) in October of 2016, when he was 16 years of age and before raise the age was implemented. The charges were under the exclusive jurisdiction of the criminal law under...

Facts: The juvenile was charged with simple assault for pushing another juvenile onto a bench at a roller skating rink. The juvenile testified on his own behalf and the court did not provide any oral or written warnings to him before he testified. He was subsequently adjudicated delinquent.

Facts: The juvenile, Walter, was adjudicated delinquent for felony breaking and entering and breaking and entering a motor vehicle after making admissions to both offenses. During the colloquy prior to making the admission, the judge asked Walter, “[y]ou also understand you have the right to ask...

Facts: A student was suspected of possessing marijuana on the school bus. That student told the principal and the school resource officer (SRO) that another student, Deacon, had sold the marijuana to him. Deacon was absent from school the following two days. The day he returned to school he was...

• Facts: The juvenile was first placed at a YDC and then at a Level III group home following adjudications for first-degree statutory sex offense and second-degree forcible sex offense. A motion for review “to review community commitment status” was filed seven months later and a review...
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• Facts: The juvenile, who was in DSS custody after being surrendered to DSS custody by her mother, had a history of stealing vehicles and running away from placements. She had been in three Level Two therapeutic foster homes and two Level Three group homes. The matter came to disposition on...
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• • Facts: The juvenile, an elementary school student, was found by a hand dryer in the school bathroom over which the words “BOMB INCOMNG” were written on the wall in black magic marker. Later that day, the juvenile was called to the principal’s office and was found to have a black...
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• Facts: K.W. and three other juveniles approached the victim while she was sitting in her car waiting to pick her son up from a bus stop. The victim believed that the youth were requesting a ride and rolled down her window and told them that she could not help them. A few minutes later the...
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• Facts: T.T.E threw a chair in the school cafeteria during a period when students can receive tutoring and relax in the cafeteria. The chair did not hit anyone or anything. T.T.E. ran out of the cafeteria after throwing the chair. The School Resource Officer (SRO) was in the cafeteria and...
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• Facts: The juvenile was initially placed on probation as a Level 2 disposition following an admission to conspiracy to criminal common law robbery. He subsequently admitted to violating his probation by being suspended from school and leaving home without permission for three days....
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• Facts: The eight year old juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for a crime against nature. The evidence established that he told the seven year old victim to pull down her pants and he then touched and licked her genital area.
• Opinion: The juvenile’s attorney failed to provide...
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In 2011, after being convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, the seventeen year old defendant was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), and enactment of conforming legislation in...

• Facts: The police received a report of a vehicle break-in by perpetrators who had fled on foot. An officer saw the juvenile with two other people who matched the description of the vehicle break-in perpetrators and the police stopped the group of three. When an officer with a canine arrived...
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• Facts: The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent and placed on probation after admitting to possession of marijuana and resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer at a hearing in March of 2016. His period of probation was subsequently extended twice, once in September of 2016 and again...
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• Facts: The juvenile was on probation for a variety of charges related to breaking and/or entering, robbery, larceny, and intimidating a witness. The judge announced orally that she was ordering commitment to a Youth Development Center (YDC) at a dispositional hearing on probation violations...
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In a disorderly conduct case, the adjudication was reversed where the petition was not signed by a juvenile court counselor nor marked as “Approved for filing.” A petition alleging delinquency that does not include the signature of a juvenile court counselor (or other appropriate State...

The trial court was not required by G.S. 7B-2512 to make findings of fact that addressed each of the G.S. 7B-2501(c) factors and did not abuse its discretion in ordering a Level 3 commitment based on the juvenile’s repeated violations of probation.

Disposition Order Findings. The court...

The 16-year-old defendant’s request to call his mother at the beginning of the police interrogation was not a clear invocation of his right to consult a parent or guardian before being questioned. After the...

For the reasons stated in State v. Young, 369 N.C. 118 (2016) (No. 80A14), the defendant’s mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole for a felony murder committed when defendant was 16-years old violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment under...

In a simple assault and sexual battery case, the trial court erred by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss the sexual battery petitions for insufficient evidence of a sexual purpose. The 13-year-old juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for two counts each of simple assault and sexual battery...

In a resentencing hearing for a defendant convicted of first-degree murder committed at age 16, the trial court failed to make adequate findings of fact to support its decision to impose a sentence of life without parole. Under G.S. 15A-1340.19C, the court must...

The defendant’s constitutional rights were not violated when he was sentenced as an adult, following transfer, for three counts of first-degree sexual offense committed when he was 15. Defendant argued that the mandatory adult sentencing requirements violated the Eighth Amendment by prohibiting...

There was substantial evidence identifying the juvenile as the perpetrator of a misdemeanor larceny such that the trial court did not err by denying his motion to dismiss. On October 16, 2013, at approximately 5:30 p.m., three African-American males stole the victim’s...

(1) Despite a clerical error referencing a previously expired term of probation for a “minor” offense, the motion for review provided adequate notice to the juvenile that he might receive a Level III disposition for violating his probation because the motion...

In an assault case, the trial court’s adjudication order complied with G.S. 7B-2411, which requires a written finding that “the allegations in the petition have been proved [beyond a reasonable doubt].” In the blank space on the adjudication order where the trial...

The trial court did not err by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss a disorderly conduct petition. The juvenile, a Sixth grade student, was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct at school arising from his behavior during a...

The court rejected the State’s argument that the juvenile’s appeal of the trial court’s order placing him in secure custody pending his transfer to an out-of-home placement was moot on the ground that the issue is “capable of repetition, yet evading review.” An order...

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by declining to impose a Level 2 disposition based upon written findings of extraordinary needs under G.S. 7B-2508(e). Because the juvenile had a “medium” delinquency history level and was adjudicated delinquent for a “...

The trial court did not err by finding that the juvenile had two prior adjudications, even though one of them occurred after the adjudication of the offense for which disposition was being ordered. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent on three separate dates:...

In a sex offense case, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to conduct a dispositional hearing after the juvenile appealed the adjudication order under G.S. 7B-2602, which allows a juvenile to appeal the adjudication order when no disposition has been entered within 60...

(1) Two juvenile petitions alleging first-degree sex offense under G.S. 14-27.4(a)(1) and two petitions alleging crime against nature under G.S. 14-177 provided sufficient notice because the allegations followed the statutory language of both offenses. The petitions...

In a case involving first-degree sex offense and crime against nature petitions, the State was not required to present evidence of “sexual purpose.” Sexual purpose is not an element of first-degree sex offense and crime against nature. Noting that the legislature intentionally included sexual...

Where the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent in three separate sessions of juvenile court that occurred on January 5, 2012, November 29, 2012, and December 3, 2012, which were all calendared for disposition on March 4, 2013, the trial court was not required to...

The court vacated the adjudication for sexual battery for insufficient evidence. At adjudication, a female classmate of the male juvenile testified that the juvenile “grabbed and squeezed her butt” in class when she went to shelve a book. The juvenile testified that...

A 13-year-old juvenile who made an incriminating statement to an officer during roadside questioning at the scene of an automobile accident was not in custody. An officer saw the juvenile and two others leaving the scene of an accident involving a car that crashed...

Although an officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a juvenile, the officer’s subsequent conduct of ordering the juvenile to empty her pockets constituted a search and this search was illegal because it was without probable cause, was not incident to an arrest, nor was it consensual. The...

The trial court erred by denying the juvenile’s motion for release from his YDC commitment. Following adjudications of delinquency for possession of a firearm by a minor and carrying a concealed weapon, the trial court committed the juvenile to a youth development...

The court remanded the disposition order in a simple assault case for additional findings of fact, holding that the trial court’s findings were insufficient to show that it considered all of the factors listed in G.S. 7B-2501(c). The court said, assuming arguendo,...

The court upheld the juvenile’s adjudication for simple assault. At adjudication, a female classmate of the male juvenile testified that the juvenile “grabbed and squeezed her butt” in class when she went to shelve a book. The juvenile testified that he accidentally...

An officer had reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot to justify an investigatory seizure that occurred when the officer was investigating an alleged larceny of missing cash and observed the juvenile trying to swallow something green. The officer asked...

The court dismissed without prejudice the juvenile’s claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, indicating that the juvenile could pursue that claim by filing a motion in the cause. The court noted that due to the nature of IAC claims, defendants will...

The evidence was insufficient to adjudicate the thirteen-year-old juvenile delinquent for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Although the evidence showed that the juvenile was operating a motor vehicle registered to his mother, there was no evidence that he was...

The trial court erred by denying the juvenile’s motion to modify the disposition order based upon the erroneous calculation of the juvenile’s delinquency history level. Because the trial court never extended the juvenile’s probation, it expired on June 13, 2012, which...

The evidence was insufficient to adjudicate the thirteen-year-old juvenile delinquent for reckless driving under G.S. 20-140(b). The evidence showed that the juvenile was driving a vehicle registered to his mother at the time of the wreck and that the vehicle that he...

The court held that mandatory life imprisonment without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment “flows from the...

There was sufficient evidence of common law robbery and simple assault under the principle of “acting in concert” where State’s evidence showed the victim was robbed of his iPod by a group of boys after school, the...

The trial court did not err by denying the 17-year-old juvenile defendant’s motion to suppress his statement. Two plain-clothes detectives driving an unmarked car picked defendant up from his home and drove him 2 miles away where they questioned him about recent...

The trial court erred by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss the petition for second degree sex offense under G.S. 14-27.5 because the State failed to prove the element of force. The juvenile instigated and engaged in various sexual activities with other boys...

The trial court did not err by denying the 17-year-old juvenile defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his backpack based on consent. An officer saw defendant sitting on a sidewalk, around 8:00 a.m., and asked for his name and whether he...

The trial court erred in not ruling on the juvenile’s motion for disclosure of witnesses and not granting a continuance or otherwise remedying the problem created by the State’s failure to comply with G.S. 7B-2300(b). Before the adjudication hearing, the juvenile...

In a delinquency case, the State may appeal an order suppressing evidence only if the order terminates the prosecution. Police received word that 12-year-old juvenile was among a group of juveniles who vandalized a vacant building. At school, the juvenile was taken...

The trial court’s “dismissal” of the case at disposition did not result in a dismissal of the underlying adjudication. After an adjudication of delinquency for resisting an officer, the juvenile was in court for disposition on that charge and for a hearing on a motion...

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by entering a Level 2 disposition because it was within the range of statutorily permitted dispositions. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for simple assault and...

The trial court did not err by denying the 17-year-old juvenile defendant’s motion to suppress his confession based on an alleged violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel because the Sixth Amendment right to...

Evidence of the stolen credit card seized from the juvenile should have been excluded because the search pursuant to which the officer found it exceeded the permissible scope of a Terry frisk and was...

The juvenile’s brief cited no authority to support his argument that the trial court, in a bench trial, must state aloud the standard of proof for ruling on a motion to dismiss. Therefore, the argument was abandoned...

There was sufficient evidence to support an adjudication of delinquency for indecent liberties between children committed by a 13-year-old juvenile against a 3-year-old victim where the juvenile told the victim his...

Age should have been considered a relevant factor in determining whether a 13-year-old student who was questioned at school was in custody. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for felonious breaking and...

An anonymous tip - that two juveniles were walking with a gun - did not provide reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop where no evidence corroborated the tipster’s knowledge of concealed criminal activity....

The trial court did not err by denying the 17-year-old juvenile defendant’s motion to suppress his statement because he voluntarily and knowingly waived his right to have a parent present during questioning about a robbery and murder when he stated that he only...

The court vacated an adjudication of delinquency for indecent liberties between children where the trial court prevented defense counsel from making a closing argument. The appellate court recognized that the right to...

A one-week difference between the date of offense alleged in the petition for indecent liberties between children and the date shown by the evidence did not require a dismissal where the variance was slight and did not...

The trial court did not err when it announced its adjudication and disposition decisions immediately following the transfer hearing and its decision not to transfer. The trial court, after a two-day hearing, found probable cause for attempted first-degree sex offense. At a later date the court...

The “dismissal” of the case at disposition does not result in a dismissal of the underlying adjudication. After an adjudication of delinquency for resisting an officer, the juvenile was in court for disposition on that charge and for a hearing on a motion to revoke...

Although the juvenile’s attorney did not move to dismiss the petitions alleging indecent liberties between children and second degree sex offense at the close of the evidence, the court exercised its authority under...

Although the court did not follow the statutory procedure for conducting a disposition hearing, it complied in substance if not in form, and the juvenile failed to show how the disposition might have been different if the court had followed the correct procedure. Immediately after the juvenile’s...

The Court of Appeals granted the juvenile’s petition for writ of certiorari to review the juvenile’s adjudication of delinquency for assault on a government officer. After entering the adjudication order, the trial...

The court’s failure to make written findings to support its oral denial of the juvenile’s release pending appeal required remand. Although the issue may have become moot due to the passage of time, the court noted that it must vacate the order and remand for the trial...

The trial court’s “dismissal” of the case at disposition did not result in a dismissal of the underlying adjudication. After an adjudication of delinquency for resisting an officer, the juvenile was in court for disposition on that charge and for a hearing on a motion...

The NC Supreme Court held that the statutory time limits in G.S. 7B-1703 for the filing of juvenile petitions are not jurisdictional. On 9/25/07 the court counselor received a complaint about an incident that...

The court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits life imprisonment without parole for a juvenile offender who commits a non-homicide offense. The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment is based on the principle that “punishment for crime should be graduated and...

The trial court erred by denying a 12-year-old juvenile’s motion to suppress when the juvenile’s confession was made in the course of custodial interrogation but without the warnings required by Miranda and G.S. 7B-2101(a), and without being apprised of and afforded...

The search of a student by an outside LEO was reasonable under New Jersey v. T.L.O. where the LEO and the Principal witnessed suspicious activity on a school surveillance camera and investigated the incident together in...

The court reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals which held that juveniles are entitled to credit for time spent in secure custody prior to disposition under G.S. 15-196.1. Pursuant to G.S. 7B-1903(c), the...

The trial court erred by accepting the juvenile’s admission because it did not comply with G.S. 7B-2407(a). Of the six mandatory requirements in that subsection for accepting a juvenile’s admission, the trial court omitted three, in that the court did not inform the...

The “totality of the circumstances” test is used to determine whether a juvenile’s statement is voluntary. “A statement is involuntary or coerced if it is the result of government tactics so oppressive that the will of...

In reviewing whether the trial court committed plain error by admitting an officer’s testimony about the identification of marijuana and its street value, the Court of Appeals reiterated that the first step in the...

The transcript of the defendant’s prior testimony in a juvenile hearing was admissible, even if the audio recording was available. Parents testified in a juvenile proceeding in which their child was alleged to be an abused juvenile, and the testimony was recorded and...

A juvenile’s statements were the result of “custodial interrogation” and should have been suppressed, where she was handcuffed and placed in a patrol car and the officer’s statement that taking drugs into the jail would be another charge was made for the purpose of...

The trial court erred by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss allegations of crime against nature based on evidence that the 12-year-old juvenile “licked” the genitals of his 7-year old cousin while she was fully...

The trial court did not err in admitting the school resource officer’s (SRO’s) testimony about the identification of the marijuana, its approximate street value, and the common practice of drug dealers to possess both cash and drugs because it was based on personal experience and was helpful...

The court held that juvenile petitions alleging first-degree sexual offense were fatally defective because they failed to allege the names of the child victims as required by G.S. 15-144.2(b).

The court reversed the trial court’s order of restitution. A requirement that a juvenile make restitution as a condition of probation must be supported by the record and appropriate findings of fact which demonstrate...

Under plain error review, the record was insufficient to conclude that the presence of an SRO, at the request of school administrators conducting the investigation, rendered the questioning of the 14-year-old juvenile by school officials a “custodial interrogation,”...

In the juvenile’s appeal from the denial of his motion to suppress his confession, the State could not argue on appeal that the juvenile was not “in custody” when that was not argued in the trial court and where...

Although issues raised by the juvenile regarding the denial of her motion for release from custody were moot because the juvenile’s probation had expired, dismissal of the appeal was not required because the issues were “capable of repetition, yet evading review.” For...

The trial court did not err by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss a larceny petition where the evidence tended to show that a teacher saw the property (her visor) in the juvenile’s possession when he left the...

The Court of Appeals first held that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the juvenile’s notice of appeal was not timely. The juvenile appealed the adjudication order and an order denying his motion to suppress, which are not appealable final orders...

Under plain error review, the record was insufficient to conclude that the presence of an SRO, at the request of school administrators conducting the investigation, rendered the questioning of the 14-year-old juvenile by school officials a “custodial interrogation,”...

The trial court abused its discretion in denying the juvenile’s motion to continue and denying the juvenile the right to examine his DSS and mental health records, which the court deemed irrelevant after reviewing them...

In an assault causing serious bodily injury case, the court held that the juvenile had not preserved for appellate review his argument that the evidence was insufficient to establish serious bodily injury, because the juvenile did not move to dismiss at the end of the...

Although a worksheet alone is not sufficient proof of a juvenile’s delinquency history, the Court of Appeals concluded that the juvenile stipulated to the history information in the court counselor’s report when the juvenile’s attorney received and reviewed the report...

The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent for first degree sex offenses with a child, for offenses that occurred when the juvenile was 14 and the child was 7. On the appellate entries form, the court stated as a compelling reason for not releasing the juvenile pending...

The Court of Appeals rejected the juvenile’s argument that the trial court failed to exercise dispositional discretion. Although the trial judge noted a general policy preference in ordering Level 2 dispositions for juveniles who commit felonies, the record reveals...

In a first degree sex offense case, the court held the juvenile had not preserved for appeal his argument that the trial court erred by proceeding to disposition without a sex offender specific evaluation, because he had made no objection at the trial level. The court...

The superior court erred in its order reversing the district court’s transfer decision because it engaged in a de novo review of the evidence presented at the transfer hearing when, pursuant to G.S. 7B-2603, it was...

The trial court erred by accepting the juvenile’s admission to felonious larceny and attempted felonious larceny of a vehicle valued at more than $1,000 because the prosecutor’s statement of the facts did not contain...

The trial court did not err by denying the juvenile’s motion to dismiss the manslaughter petition for insufficient evidence. The juvenile argued the state failed to establish proximate cause...

The trial court did not err by modifying the disposition from residential treatment to commitment to a youth development center after finding that funding for residential treatment was no longer available. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent after admitting a...

The trial court’s findings were sufficient to support revocation of the juvenile’s post-release supervision where the court found that the juvenile had violated the terms of post-release supervision by failing to comply with the rules and regulations of the group home...

Delaying the disposition for more than six months after adjudication, so the juvenile could comply with an agreement to testify truthfully in a co-offender’s trial, did not deprive the court of subject matter jurisdiction under G.S....

The trial court properly denied the juvenile’s motion to dismiss a petition charging him with resisting a public officer, under G.S. 14-223, where the evidence showed an officer was investigating an alleged larceny of missing cash, the officer was on duty and in...

A juvenile petition alleging the juvenile made a false bomb threat at school was not fatally deficient because it alleged a violation of the more general statute, G.S. 14-69.1(a), which applies to “any” building, as...

The trial court properly denied the juvenile’s motion to dismiss the petition charging her with making a false bomb threat under G.S. 14-69.1 where the evidence showed the juvenile was the last student to use a calculator prior to a “Bomb at Lunch”...

The court dismissed the juvenile’s argument that the trial court erred when it entered its findings of fact because the juvenile’s brief failed to cite any authority to support this argument. The assertion in the juvenile’s brief that the juvenile “adopted and...

The trial court properly denied the 16-year-old defendant’s motion to suppress his statement, even though he requested to telephone his aunt before making the statement, because an aunt was not “a parent, guardian, or...

The trial court committed reversible error by accepting the juvenile’s admission where the court omitted two of the six mandatory inquiries in G.S. 7B-2407(a). The fact that the juvenile signed a transcript of admission...

There was substantial evidence to support a reasonable inference that the juvenile was the perpetrator of an assault inflicting serious injury where the evidence showed the juvenile had attempted to engage the victim in...

Where the juvenile moved to continue disposition to obtain a 4-year old psychological evaluation, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying the motion because the documentation was cumulative and the...

(1) Consensual oral sex between the 14-year-old juvenile and his 12-year-old girlfriend violated the crime against nature statute and...

The trial court erred by making conflicting statements regarding which standard of proof it applied to the adjudication of delinquency. The adjudication order “found beyond a reasonable doubt” that the juvenile “...

The trial court properly denied the juvenile’s motion to dismiss a petition for disorderly conduct in a school where the evidence showed that a teacher heard the juvenile yell “shut the f__k up” to a group of students in the hallway, requiring the teacher to leave his assigned position on lunch...

The juvenile was not in custody when a detective spoke with him and his mother in their living room about his younger brother’s allegation of sexual abuse because no proceedings had been initiated, the purpose of the interview was to investigate the allegation, and the detective informed the...

The trial court erred by denying the juveniles’ motion to dismiss petitions charging them with disorderly conduct in a school where evidence that one student lunged at another with a nail and that both banged on a radiator causing a rattling noise, which prompted other students to look, was not...