Title 45 — Juvenile Justice

(a) Whenever it appears to a law enforcement officer or any other person that a child is or appears to be within the Court’s jurisdiction, as under paragraph (a)(l) of 45.0115, the law enforcement officer or other person may refer the matter conferring or appearing to confer juri…

Whenever it appears to a law enforcement officer or other person that a child is or appears to be within the Court’s jurisdiction, as provided in paragraph (a)(2) or (a)(3) of 45.0115, the law enforcement officer or other person may refer the matter to the Court, which shall have…

(a) Efforts to effect informal adjustment may extend no longer than 6 months. (b) In any informal adjustment, the Court for its designated agency shall, during the period of informal adjustment, periodically counsel and guide the child and his parents, guardian, or legal custodia…

(a) Upon receipt of a report filed by a law enforcement agency, an employee of a public or private school, or any person required to report under 45.2002, indicating that a child has suffered abuse as defined in subsection (a) of 45.2001 and that the best interest of the child re…

(a) The petition and all subsequent court documents in any proceedings brought under paragraph (a)(l), (a)(2), or (a)(3) of 45.0115 shall be entitled “The People of the Territory of American Samoa in the Interest of. ……………. , a child (or children), and Concerning ……………..Responden…

After a petition has been filed, the court promptly issues a summons reciting briefly the substance of the petition. The summons also contains a statement, when appropriate, that the termination of parental rights is a possible remedy under the proceedings and sets forth the cons…

No summons may issue to any respondent who appears voluntarily, or who waives service, or who has promised in writing to appear at the hearing as provided in 45.0202 through 45.0207 and 45.0210 but that person is provided with a copy of the petition and summons upon appearance or…

The summons requires the person or persons having the physical custody of the child to appear and to bring the child before the court at a time and place stated. If the person or persons so summoned are not the parents or guardian of the child, then summons is also issued to the …

The court on its own motion or on the motion of any party may join as a respondent or require the appearance of any person it considers necessary to the action and authorize the issuance of a summons directed to that person. Any party to the action may request the issuance of com…

If it appears that the welfare of the child or of the public requires that the child be taken into custody, the Court may, by endorsement upon the summons, direct that the person serving the summons take the child into custody at once. History: 1980, PL 16-71 § 1.

The Court may authorize the payment of necessary travel expenses incurred by persons summoned or otherwise required to appear. History: 1980, PL 16-71 § 1.

Summons shall be served personally. under Rules 4 and 5 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. If personal service is used, it shall be sufficient to confer jurisdiction if service is effected not less than 2 days before the time fixed in the summons for the appearance of the p…

If the parents, guardian, or other legal custodian of the child required to be summoned under 45.0313 cannot be found within the territory, the fact of the child’s presence in the territory shall confer jurisdiction on the court as to any absent parent, guardian, or legal custodi…

(a) Any person summoned or required to appear as under 45.0311 through 45.0318 who has acknowledged service and fails to appear without reasonable cause may be proceeded against for contempt of court. (b) If after reasonable effort the summons cannot be served or if the welfare o…

(a) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem to protect the interest of a child in proceedings under paragraph (a)(l), (a)(2) or (c)(l) of 45.0115 when: (1) no parent, guardian, legal custodian, or relative of the child appears at the first or any subsequent hearing in the case;…

At the adjudicatory hearing, which is conducted as provided in 45.0124, the court considers whether the allegations of the petition are supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in cases concerning delinquent children or children in need of supervision or by a preponderance…

(a) When it appears that the evidence presented at the hearing as provided in 45.0330 discloses facts not alleged in the petition, the court may proceed immediately to consider the additional or different matters raised by the evidence if the parties consent. (b) In that event, t…

(a) After making a finding as provided by under subsection (a) of 45.0335, but before making an adjudication, the court may continue the hearing as provided in 45.0330, from time to time, allowing the child to remain in his own home or in the temporary custody of another person o…

When the petition alleges a child 14 years of age or older to be a delinquent child as defined by subsection (9) of 45.0103, by virtue of having committed an act which would constitute a felony if committed by an adult, the court shall: (1) proceed as otherwise provided in 45.033…

When the court finds that the allegations of the petition are not supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in cases concerning delinquent children or children in need of supervision or by a preponderance of the evidence in cases concerning neglected or dependent children, …

(a) When the court finds that the allegations of the petition are supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in cases concerning delinquent children or children in need of supervision or by a preponderance of the evidence in cases concerning neglected or dependent children, …

(a) If it appears from the evidence presented at an adjudicatory hearing or otherwise that the child may be mentally ill or developmentally disabled, the Court orders that the child be examined by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist and may place the child in a suitable fa…

Under subsection (c) of 45.0115, at the certification hearing, the Court considers: (1) whether there is probable cause to believe that the child has committed an act for which he may be certified for criminal proceedings as an adult under subsection (c) of 45.0115, and the intro…

(a) The hearing pursuant to 45.0340 is conducted under 45.0124 and the Court makes certain that the child and his parents, guardian, or legal custodian have been fully informed of their right to be represented by counsel under 45.0120 to 45.0123. (b) In considering whether or not…

Written reports and other materials relating to the child’s mental, physical, educational, and social history may be considered by the Court in a hearing as provided in 45.0340, but the Court, if so requested by the child, his parent or guardian, or other interested party, shall …

(a) In a hearing as provided in 45.0340, if the court finds that it should certify the child for criminal proceedings as an adult, it shall enter an order to that effect; except, that, the order shall be null and void if the Attorney General fails to file any information in the C…

In a hearing as provided in 45.0340 if the Court finds that it is in the best interests of the child and of the community not to certify the child for criminal proceedings as an adult, then it proceeds with the adjudicatory hearing under 45.0330 to 45.0335. History: 1980, PL 16-7…

(a) After making an order of adjudication, the Court hears evidence on the question of the proper disposition best serving the interests of the child and the public. The evidence includes, but is not limited to, the social study and other reports under 45.0130. (b) The Court may …

(a) The Court may make an order of protection in assistance of or as a condition of any decree of disposition authorized by this chapter. The order of protection may set forth reasonable conditions or behavior to be observed for a specified period by the parent, guardian, or any …

(a) If a child has been adjudicated as being delinquent, the Court shall enter a decree of disposition containing 1 or more of the following provisions which the Court finds appropriate: (1) The Court may make any disposition, or combination of dispositions when appropriate, unde…

(a) When a child has been adjudicated as being in need of supervision, the Court enters a decree of disposition containing 1 or more of the following provisions which the Court finds appropriate: (1) The Court may place the child on probation or under protective supervision in th…

When a child has been adjudicated to be neglected or dependent, the Court shall enter a decree of disposition. When the decree does not terminate parental rights, it shall include 1 or more of the following provisions which the Court finds appropriate: (a) The Court may place the…

In a disposition as provided in 45.0354: (a) The Court may enter a decree terminating all parental rights of 1 or both parents in the child when it finds that the best interests and welfare of the child so require. (b) Upon the entry of a decree terminating the legal rights of bo…

When a child has been adjudicated neglected because he has been willfully abandoned by his parent or parents, the Court may enter a decree terminating parental rights in the child if it finds that the parent or parents having legal custody have surrendered physical custody for a …

In placing the legal custody or guardianship of the person of a child with an individual or a private agency, the Court, in a disposition as provided in 45.0354, shall give primary consideration to the welfare of the child, but shall take into consideration the religious preferen…

In a disposition as provided in 45.0354: (a) The Court may grant a new hearing as under 45.0362. (b) Unless there is an appeal from a decree terminating the rights of 1 or both parents, the decree terminates permanently the legal parent-child relationship and all the rights and d…

(a) (1) When a child is committed to the Corrections Bureau, the Court, in a disposition as provided in 45.0354, transmits with the commitment order a copy of the petition, the order of adjudication, copies of the social study, any clinical or educational reports, and other infor…

(a) (1) Any individual, agency, or institution vested by the Court with legal custody of a child has the rights and duties defined under subsection (18) of 45.0103. (2) Any individual, agency, or institution vested by the Court with the guardianship of the person of a child has t…

(a) A parent, guardian, custodian, or next friend of any child adjudicated under this chapter, or any person affected by a decree in a proceeding under this chapter, may petition the Court for a new hearing on the grounds specified in Rule 59 (a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Pro…

(a) The terms and conditions of probation are specified by the Court. Each child placed on probation is given a Written statement of the terms and conditions of his probation and has the terms and conditions fully explained to him. (b) (1) The Court reviews the terms and conditio…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the jurisdiction of the Court over any child adjudicated as delinquent, in need of supervision, or neglected or dependent continues until he becomes 21 years of age unless terminated by Court order. History: 1980, PL 16-71 § 1.

Any adult who: (1) induces, aids, or encourages a child to violate any Federal, State, or Territorial law, or ordinance, or any Court order; or (2) who abuses, ill-treats, neglects, or abandons a child, upon conviction, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. (a) in the case where th…