Title 12 — Title 12

Juvenile Court. (a) This chapter shall be known as the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act. The purpose of this chapter is to facilitate the care, protection, and discipline of children who come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, while acknowledging the responsibility of the …

When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: (1) ADULT. An individual 19 years of age or older. (2) AFTERCARE. Conditions and supervision as the juvenile court orders after release from the Department of Youth Services. (3) CHILD. An ind…

Maintenance of Separate Juvenile Case Action Summaries; Promulgation of Rules of Procedure for Juvenile Courts; Powers of Judges of Juvenile Courts as to Issuance of Writs and Processes and as to Equity Generally. (a) A circuit or district court judge may be designated as a juven…

(a) The presiding juvenile court judge may appoint not less than five nor more than 25 citizens of the county, known for their interest in the welfare of children, who shall serve without compensation, to constitute and be the advisory board of the juvenile court in matters relat…

Generally; Assistance by District Attorneys in the Juvenile Courts; Representation of the State by District Attorneys in Cases Appealed from Juvenile Courts. (a) The district attorney of the judicial circuit in which delinquency or child in need of supervision cases are filed may…

Hearings of Cases by Juvenile Court Referees; Transmission of Findings and Recommendations for Disposition of Juvenile Court Referees to Juvenile Court Judges; Provision of Notice and Written Copies of Findings and Recommendations of Juvenile Court Referees to Parties; Rehearing …

Generally; Powers of Juvenile Probation Officers as to Taking into Custody and Placing in Shelter or Detention Care of Children Generally; Procedure Upon Taking into Custody of Child by Juvenile Probation Officer Generally. (a) For the purpose of carrying out the objectives and p…

Under the Jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court Pursuant to This Chapter; Reimbursement. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all expenses necessary or appropriate to the carrying out of the purposes and intent of this chapter and all expenses of maintenance and care of chi…

Attorneys, and Expenses for Support, Treatment of Children Under the Jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court Pursuant to This Chapter; Manner of Payment; Proceedings Upon Failure of Parents to Pay Amounts Directed. If, after making a parent, or other person legally obligated to care f…

Juvenile Court Generally. (a) Subject to the laws relating to the procedures therefor and the limitations thereon, the juvenile court may punish a person for contempt of court for disobeying an order of the juvenile court or for obstructing or interfering with the proceedings of …

Children. (a) It shall be unlawful for any parent, legal guardian, legal custodian, or other person to do any of the following: (1) To willfully aid, encourage, or cause any child to become or remain delinquent, dependent, or in need of supervision. (2) To permit or encourage the…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere knowingly with or oppose or otherwise obstruct any juvenile probation officer or representative of the Department of Human Resources in the performance of his or her duties pursuant to this chapter. (b) Any person violating any…

Custodians Parties to Juvenile Court Proceedings. A juvenile court shall have the authority to make a parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian a party to a juvenile court proceeding pursuant to procedures established by the Alabama Rules of Juvenile Procedure. History: (Act 200…

(a) A juvenile court shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction of juvenile court proceedings in which a child is alleged to have committed a delinquent act, to be dependent, or to be in need of supervision. A dependency action shall not include a custody dispute between pare…

Military Installations. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the state shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the United States over a military installation of the United States Department of Defense located within this state in a matter relating to a violation of…

(a) A juvenile court shall also exercise original jurisdiction of the following civil proceedings: (1) Removal of disabilities of nonage pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 26. (2) Proceedings for judicial consent for a person under the respective legal age to marry, to be employed, …

Once an adoption proceeding in the juvenile court has been completed, a copy of all the juvenile court records, including filings and documents originally sent upon transfer by the probate court, shall be forwarded to the probate court from which the case was transferred. All oth…

(a) A juvenile court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction to try any individual committing any of the following offenses while 18 years of age or older: (1) Contributing to the delinquency, in need of supervision, or dependency of a child in violation of Section 12-15-111. …

(a) Once a child has been adjudicated dependent, delinquent, or in need of supervision, jurisdiction of the juvenile court shall terminate when the child becomes 21 years of age unless, prior thereto, the judge of the juvenile court terminates its jurisdiction by explicitly stati…

Judgments. (a) The Legislature finds that it was its original intent in the adoption of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (Act 2008-277) for a juvenile court to retain continuing jurisdiction in all cases in its jurisdiction to the extent provided by law. Act 2012-383 is curative …

A person employed by the judicial branch of government who is designated by a juvenile court as a juvenile court intake officer shall perform the following duties: (1) Receive and examine written complaints or petitions, made under oath, of allegations of delinquency, in need of …

After a verified complaint has been filed and before a petition alleging delinquency or in need of supervision is filed, the juvenile court intake officer, subject to the direction of the juvenile court, may give counsel and advice to the parties for the purpose of an informal ad…

(a) Delinquency, child in need of supervision, and dependency cases and proceedings pursuant to Section 12-15-132 before the juvenile court shall be initiated by the filing of a petition by the juvenile court intake officer who shall receive verified complaints and proceed thereo…

(a) A juvenile petition alleging delinquency, in need of supervision, or dependency may be signed by any person 18 years of age or older, other than a juvenile court intake officer, who has knowledge of the facts alleged or is informed of them and believes that they are true. How…

Summonses. (a) After a petition alleging delinquency, in need of supervision, or dependency has been filed, the juvenile court shall direct the issuance of summonses to be directed to the child if he or she is 12 or more years of age, to the parents, legal guardian, or other lega…

Service of summonses in cases filed in the jurisdiction of the juvenile court shall be pursuant to rules of procedure adopted by the Supreme Court of Alabama. History: (Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §5-118; §12-15-54, amended and renumbered by Act 2008-277, p. 441, §7.)

Orders in Cases Where Parties Served by Publication. The juvenile court shall make interlocutory and final dispositional orders in those cases in which a party or parties have been served by publication in accordance with rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Alabama. History: (A…

(a) A child or minor may be taken into custody for any of the following reasons: (1) Pursuant to an order of the juvenile court. (2) By a law enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to believe that the child or minor has run away from a juvenile detention, residential, shel…

If it appears from a sworn statement, written or verbal, presented to the juvenile court that a child needs to be placed in detention or shelter or other care, the juvenile court may issue a pick-up order that a law enforcement officer or other person authorized by this chapter s…

of Children Taken into Custody Generally. (a) A person taking a child into custody without an order of the juvenile court shall, with all possible speed, and in accordance with this chapter and the rules of court pursuant thereto: (1) Release the child to the parents, legal guard…

Children Taken into Custody. (a) An allegedly delinquent child, dependent child, or child in need of supervision lawfully taken into custody shall immediately be released, upon the ascertainment of the necessary facts, to the care, custody, and control of the parent, legal guardi…

All hearings pursuant to this chapter shall be conducted by the juvenile court without a jury and separate from other proceedings. The general public shall be excluded from delinquency, in need of supervision, or dependency hearings and only the parties, their counsel, witnesses,…

Examinations of Children; Minors or Children Believed to Be Individuals with a Mental Illness or an Intellectual Disability; Treatment or Care for Children; Payment; Authority to Order Emergency Medical Care for Children. (a) Where there are indications that a child may be physic…

In any proceeding commenced pursuant to this chapter, on motion of the juvenile court or on motion of a party, the juvenile court may make an order restraining the conduct of any party over whom the juvenile court has obtained jurisdiction, if all of the following occur: (1) An o…

Disposition of These Children. (a) A child on probation or aftercare incident to an adjudication as a delinquent child or a child in need of supervision who violates the terms of his or her probation or aftercare may be proceeded against for a revocation of the order. (b) A proce…

(a) The following records, reports, and information acquired or generated in juvenile courts concerning children shall be confidential and shall not be released to any individual, department, agency, or entity, except as provided elsewhere in this section: (1) Juvenile legal file…

(a) Law enforcement agencies shall take special precautions to ensure that law enforcement records and files concerning a child will be maintained in a manner and pursuant to those safeguards that will protect against disclosure to any unauthorized person, department, agency, or …

(a) Fingerprints of a child who has been charged with a delinquent act shall be taken by the law enforcement agency taking the child into custody. The prints may be retained in a local file and a copy shall be filed with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. (b) If latent fingerpr…

Pertaining to Certain Persons and Effect Thereof. (a) On motion of a person who has been the subject of a delinquency or child in need of supervision petition , the juvenile court may order the sealing of the legal and social files and records of the juvenile court pertaining to …

Juvenile Courts Pertaining to Certain Persons and Effect Thereof. (a) A person who has been the subject of a delinquency petition and has met the conditions stipulated in subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of Section 12-15-136, five years after reaching the age of majority, may fi…

Order; When Order May Be Entered; Purpose of Order. The juvenile court, at any time after a dependency petition has been filed, or on an emergency basis, may enter an order of protection or restraint to protect the health or safety of a child subject to the proceeding. History: (…

Showing of Necessity to Protect Health or Safety of Child Subject to a Juvenile Court Proceeding, Best Interests of the Child. A protection or restraint order may be issued by the juvenile court, after notice and a hearing, upon proper showing by a preponderance of the evidence t…

Behavior for Parents, Persons Responsible for Care; Enumeration of Certain Specific Requirements Which May Be Included in Order. (a) The protection or restraint order may set forth reasonable conditions of behavior to be observed by a person who is a parent, legal guardian, legal…

Evidence of Abuse or Neglect; Evidence Required; Hearing Required Within 72 Hours of Issuance of Order. The juvenile court may enter an ex parte order of protection or restraint on an emergency basis, without prior notice and a hearing, upon a showing of verified written or verba…

Hearing for Person Subject Thereto; Findings Required Concerning Best Interests of the Child Subject to a Juvenile Court Proceeding. After notice and opportunity for a hearing afforded to a person subject to a protection or restraint order, the order may be modified or extended f…

Violator Responsible for Court Costs and Attorney Fees. (a) Any person violating an order of protection or restraint shall be punishable for contempt of court, as in other cases, and upon a finding of willful conduct, shall be responsible for the payment of court costs and attorn…

Certain Other Laws. The provisions of Sections 12-15-138 to 12-15-143, inclusive, shall be construed in pari materia with Sections 30-5-1 to 30-5-11, inclusive, as amended, and other criminal laws relating to child abuse except to the extent that there is conflict herewith. Histo…

For purposes of this article, the following terms and phrases shall have the following meanings: (1) AVERAGE COST OF DETENTION. The average cost of detention of children as determined from experience in Alabama and as computed by the Department of Youth Services. (2) CONSENT DECR…

(a) Rights of the child when taken into custody. When a child is taken into custody, the person taking the child into custody shall inform the child of all of the following, in language understandable to the child: (1) The reason that the child is being taken into custody. (2) Th…

(a) A prosecutor, before a hearing on a delinquency petition on its merits and after notifying, verbally or in writing, the juvenile probation officer, may file a motion requesting the juvenile court judge to transfer a child for criminal prosecution to the circuit or district co…