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The Indiana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in a Cass County juvenile case in which a boy was accused of a crime shortly before his 18th birthday but the state failed to file a formal delinquency case against him until after turned 18.
As a result, the Cass County juvenile court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in the case because the alleged violator had already aged out of the juvenile system and therefore it could not approve the state’s motion to correct its error.
That essentially left the case in legal limbo, until the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in October that the state should be allowed to correct its error and sent the case back to Cass County for action.
Now, the person accused in the case and referred to in court documents as B.H. is appealing that decision to the Indiana Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments at 9:30 a.m. on May 15.
In January 2024, B.H. was 17 years old and was being held at the Logansport Juvenile Correctional Facility when he allegedly assaulted a correctional officer. On April 9, 2024, after B.H. had turned 18, the state requested authorization to file a delinquency petition, which was initially denied.
B.H.’s attorney argues on appeal that the state did not have statutory authority to appeal the juvenile court’s order and that the state’s appeal should be dismissed as untimely.
The case is State of Indiana v. BH, 24A-JV-1247
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