Pertaining to juvenile justice, The stage of a delinquency proceeding comparable to the sentencing stage of an adult criminal trial. A disposition hearing is only held if a youth has pleaded guilty to an offense or is found guilty by the judge. Based on information provided by a youths defense attorney, the prosecutor, and the local probation department, the judge determines the youths needs and how best to meet them, while still ensuring the publics protection. Judges generally place the youth under some type of supervision such as probation or placement in a secure confinement facility, and mandate services and/or participation in certain treatment or programming. The duration of this supervision and services varies, but cannot extend beyond the juvenile courts maximum age of jurisdiction (typically, age 21). (JLC.org)
The contents of this glossary is funded in part through a sub-award from RTI as the lead partner for the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence through a Cooperative Agreement from the National Institute of Justice (2011-DN-BX-K564 and 2016-MU-BK-K110), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies and any services or tools provided).