After Court Appeals & Probation

The following section describes some of the things that could happen after the juvenile court hearings.

Appeal

You have the right to appeal any adjudication or disposition in a juvenile case to the Circuit Court. If you do this, you will have a new trial in the Circuit Court with a different judge. You must file the appeal within 10 days of the juvenile dispositional hearing.

Probation

If you have been found guilty of criminal charges or found to be a Child in Need of Supervision, you can be placed on probation. You will be assigned a probation officer who will meet with you and your parents regularly. The probation officer (PO) will set up a supervision plan with you to help you stay out of trouble. He or she will also assign conditions of probation that lists rules you are expected to follow, like a curfew, daily school attendance, and regular meetings with your PO. Parents or guardians are also required to participate in your supervision plan and must attend court hearings and meetings with your PO. This can mean that your parents will be required to go with you to treatment.

What happens if you do not follow probation rules or violate a court order?
You can be charged with a violation of probation and have another court hearing. If you are found guilty of the violation, the judge can enter more orders including the possibility of detention or commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice. Your parents can also be in contempt of court if they refuse to participate.

After Your Committment

Commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice
One of the sentencing possibilities in some criminal cases is commitment to the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). If you are committed to DJJ, you will most likely be held in a Juvenile Correctional Facility for 6 months or more. Depending on the circumstances, you can be sentenced for a specific length of time or for an indefinite length of time. If you have an indefinite sentence, the Department of Juvenile Justice will assign you a range of months to serve based on your crimes, your record and other factors.

Where do I go if I am committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice?
If you are committed, you are first placed in Detention for a few days. After this, you are moved to the Department’s Reception and Diagnostic Center outside of Richmond, Virginia. At the Center, you will be given educational, psychological, medical and dental examinations. Based on the results you will be assigned to one of the following state Juvenile Correctional Facilities: Beaumont, Bon Air, Culpeper, Hanover, Natural Bridge or Oak Ridge.

After Court: Parole & Release

Parole
When you are released from a Juvenile Correctional Facility, you will be placed on parole, which is much like probation. Your parole officer will meet with you while you are at the facility to plan for your return home. You will have a supervision plan and rules that you will have to follow when you are back at home. You can be sent back to a correctional facility if you do not follow the rules.

Release from the Juvenile Justice System
You can remain on probation or parole in the juvenile justice system until your 21^st birthday. You can be released at any time if you complete all of the court’s requirements, stay out of trouble and follow all probation or parole rules.

If you were tried and sentenced as an adult, you can be sentenced to serve a "blended" sentence of commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice and then moved to an adult state facility. You could even be sentenced to serve in an adult institution BEFORE you turn 18.

Expungement (Destruction of Court Records) 
Records of delinquent juveniles (except for felony and traffic convictions) and CHINS juveniles must be destroyed after the juvenile has reached age 19, or after 5 years have passed since the person’s last Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court hearing: whichever event occurs later. In the case of traffic cases, the record is destroyed after the year in which the juvenile reaches age 29 unless the juvenile later commits a felony after becoming an adult. The records of a proceeding where a juvenile has committed a felony are not destroyed. If a juvenile is found not guilty of a misdemeanor offense, he or she may ask in writing for early destruction of the records.

Confidentiality 
Some juvenile court records are confidential, which means that they cannot be released to anyone without your permission. However, it is important to know that there are times when information about you is not confidential, such as:

• Your fingerprints and blood for a DNA sample will be taken and kept if you are 14 or over and convicted of a felony charge.