Juvenile Division
The Juvenile Division prosecutes felonies and misdemeanors committed in San Diego County by offenders under the age of 18, at the time of the crime. During 2008, the division was led by Chief Michele Linley and Assistant Chief Giacomo Bucci. Juvenile Deputy District Attorneys review, issue and prosecute the same types of cases that are prosecuted in adult court, except the crimes are committed by juveniles. These cases may involve weapons, injuries, a series of crimes, significant property damage and/or drugs.
During 2008, the number of felonies filed by the Juvenile Division increased by 432 and the number of misdemeanor cases filed decreased by 470. In addition, 19 Juvenile cases were direct filed into adult court.
| 2008 Juvenile Cases Reviewed | |
|---|---|
| Criminal Cases Submitted | 7,691 |
| Felony Petitions Filed | 4,046 |
| Misdemeanor Petitions Filed | 1,766 |
| WI 707 File Petitions | 19 |
| Truancy Petitions Filed | 338 |
The Juvenile Division office is broken down into four teams:
- Issuing
- Calendar
- Motions
- Trial Teams
Issuing deputies review reports submitted by police agencies then determine
whether crimes should be charged. Each calendar team DDA is assigned to
a courtroom (there are four delinquency departments) to handle all cases
assigned to that courtroom. The motion team responds to motions filed by
defense attorneys, researches legal issues, and provides coverage for two
specialized calendars.
The first specialized calendar is the dual calendar (a blend of delinquency and dependency court) and the second is a once weekly probation violation calendar. The trial team handles all disputed matters, including but not limited to trials, evidentiary hearings and prima facia hearings.
Trials in the juvenile justice system are called adjudications and are heard in front of a Juvenile Court Judge. The Juvenile Division also handles truancy cases and appears in three different courtrooms as part of the drug court team.
To assure crimes with the highest potential to significantly affect the public and individuals are handled in an efficient manner, certain cases are vertically assigned. This means one Deputy District Attorney handles the case from the time it comes into the division until the case is closed.
These types of cases include:
- Arson
- Dual Dependency/Delinquency
- Mental Competency Cases
- Graffiti
- Teen Prostitution, Teen Relationship Violence (TRV) and Sexual Assault
- Truancy
- Vehicular Manslaughter and Street Racing
- WI 707(b) hearings
In 2008, the Juvenile Division handled cases that ranged from simple misdemeanors to armed carjackings and attempted murders. In one of the carjacking cases, a female minor lured the victim to her neighborhood at which point three co-minors, one acting as a lookout and two armed with firearms, approached the victim’s vehicle and took it by force. These minors were subsequently arrested after a high speed pursuit in the stolen vehicle.
