Muncie teen acquitted of murder, pleads guilty to misdemeanor
A Delaware County jury has acquitted a Muncie teenager of murder, the county prosecutor announced Friday.
Juvenile Case
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Youth incarceration continues as advocates pursue reform efforts
A new report from a national sentencing reform nonprofit is highlighting continued concerns about youth offenders housed in adult facilities, rather than juvenile centers.
Mayor: Teacher shot by 6-year-old ‘red flag for the country’
A Virginia teacher who was critically injured when she was shot by a 6-year-old student in Newport News is showing signs of improvement as authorities struggle to understand how a child so young could be involved in a school shooting.
West Terre Haute boy arrested after leaving school, stealing rifle
An 11-year-old western Indiana student will face juvenile charges of pointing a firearm and theft after leaving school, stealing a rifle from a nearby home and pointing the weapon at police officers, a sheriff said Wednesday.
Appellate court upholds minor’s placement in DOC after failed probation
An Indiana minor placed in the Department of Correction has failed to convince the Court of Appeals of Indiana that his placement was an error or that his due process rights were violated when his hearings were held remotely.
Varied efforts focus on juvenile justice
Of all the people getting arrested and charged, the criminal justice system hopes the most that the youngest do not become repeat offenders.
COA upholds admission of evidence found on juvenile after police chase
A minor who was found with drugs and a handgun after he ran from police has failed to convince an appellate panel that the evidence found on his person should be suppressed.
Appellate court reverses delinquency adjudication for sexual battery based on insufficient evidence
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has reversed a juvenile’s delinquency adjudication for felony sexual battery after finding insufficient evidence to support the adjudication.
Split COA voids juvenile’s delinquency adjudication, finds trial court failed to ensure minor knowingly waived rights
A juvenile’s delinquency adjudication for auto theft has been voided after a split Court of Appeals of Indiana found a trial court failed to ensure the child knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights when he admitted to the offense.
Split COA finds juvenile court had jurisdiction to order SORA registration
An Indiana man wasn’t wrongfully ordered to register under the Sex and Violent Offender Registration Act by a juvenile court after he turned 18, a split Court of Appeals of Indiana panel has concluded.
Juvenile ‘dangerous possession’ issue returns to Indiana Supreme Court
The Indiana Supreme Court will again consider the reach of the juvenile courts when oral arguments bring a return of the question of jurisdiction in a case involving a minor who admitted to the delinquent act of dangerous possession of a firearm.
Kids-for-cash judges ordered to pay more than $200M
Two former Pennsylvania judges who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks were ordered to pay more than $200 million to hundreds of people they victimized in one of the worst judicial scandals in U.S. history.
COA affirms machine gun adjudication for teen who had pistol with ‘Glock switch,’ reverses 2nd adjudication for double jeopardy
A teen arrested for possession of a modified pistol will not shake his machine gun adjudication but has convinced the Court of Appeals of Indiana that a juvenile court violated double jeopardy principles when it also tacked on a possession-of-a-dangerous-firearm offense.
Justices decline to hear IRT’s COVID coverage case but agree to revisit criminal case decisions
The Indiana Supreme Court has brought the curtain down on the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s push to get its insurance company to cover losses incurred when the pandemic forced the show to close in the spring of 2020.
Justices split, find ‘jurisdictional gap’ in child molesting offense committed by minor who is now an adult
Neither the juvenile court nor the criminal court has jurisdiction over a man who allegedly committed child molesting while still a minor but whom the state did not attempt to criminally charge until he was over 21, creating a “jurisdictional gap” in cases where an offender ages out of the juvenile system, according to the Indiana Supreme Court. But the court’s majority holding was challenged by two dissenting justices, who argued the Indiana Legislature “would never have intended” for the alleged criminal act to go unpunished.
Student’s claims of bullying by Roncalli High School football players survives motion to dismiss
A lawsuit brought on behalf of a former Roncalli High School student who claims he was bullied and sexually harassed by members of the football team will proceed after a federal court rejected the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’ attempt to get the case dismissed.
COA affirms juvenile’s placement in DOC following exhaustion of ‘all reasonable efforts’
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed the placement of a Porter County juvenile in the Indiana Department of Correction following the failure of numerous and intensive rehabilitation efforts and lesser restrictive placements.
COA finds unavailability of ‘essential witnesses’ key to delay in CHINS case
The Court of Appeals of Indiana has found a juvenile court that reset four times a factfinding hearing for a CHINS petition and, consequently, exceeded the 120-day statutory deadline did not abuse its discretion because the Indiana Department of Child Services needed extra time to procure the testimony of two physicians.
3 arrested after Indiana post-graduation shooting wounds 2
Three people were taken into custody following a Sunday shooting that wounded two people shortly after a graduation ceremony in northwestern Indiana, police said.
In historic shift, far fewer teens face adult US courts
Data reported to the FBI each year by thousands of police departments across the country shows the percentage of youths taken into custody who were referred to adult courts has dropped from 8% in 2010 to 2% in 2019. Instead, more teenagers are being sent to juvenile courts or community programs that steer them to counseling, peer mediation and other services aimed at keeping them out of trouble.