Do Parents or Guardians Attend Juvenile Delinquency Court Hearings?
Parents or guardians are required to be at court hearings. The court can use appropriate means to make sure that the parents or guardians are present. However, if the judge believes that the best interest of the minor is served to not have the parents or guardians attend or a hardship for the parents or guardians exist, the parents or guardians need not be present. Does the Public Have Access to a Hearing and a Minor’s Record? Generally the public is excluded from hearings. However, the court may make exceptions, if the parties have direct and justifiable interest in a particular case. In recent years the confidential nature of the hearings has been slowly eroded. Currently if a minor is charged with certain serious felony crimes in Delinquency Court, the public can be allowed in the courtroom. Some of the crimes that would fall within the category of serious felonies are murder, arson, robbery, serious sex charges, weapons charges, burglary, certain drugs, gang activity, kidnap and to
