Juvenile Court

Drug Abuse Prevention

The Satellite Juvenile Court of Washington Township and the City of Centerville is an official extension of the Montgomery County Juvenile Court. It was created in 1991 to benefit our community by giving area youth a greater awareness of the responsibilities of citizenship. Phone 438-2751 or email the court administrator, Deborah Jay.

The Court's Mission

• To address citizen's concerns and give more attention to misdemeanor and first-time offender cases involving juveniles ages 7 to 18.
• To intervene and try to keep young law offenders from developing permanent criminal tendencies, by making the juvenile realize that certain behavior could lead to something worse.

Types of Cases Handled

Misdemeanor cases may include underage possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct and unruly behavior, petty theft, criminal damaging, non-felony drug offenses and school truancy cases.

Case referrals must meet required guidelines in order for it to be handled by the Satellite Court. Cases that will not be heard include most felony cases, traffic court cases or repeat offenders.

The Hearing Process

Approved referrals will be set for a hearing by the Court Coordinator. An official summons will be sent to the parents of the youth indicating date, time and location of the hearing. Hearings will be conducted on an informal basis with a Court Referee, the juvenile offender and the parents of the juvenile present. The referee will discuss the offense with the juvenile and parents, consider the seriousness of the charge and determine the punishment.

Participation in the Satellite Juvenile Court by the youth and his/her parents will be voluntary, but failure to attend hearings or failure to abide by the Court's decision will result in the case being forwarded directly to the Montgomery County Juvenile Court. If the youth enters a denial of the charge and the matter cannot be resolved by the Referee, the case will be forwarded directly to the Montgomery County Juvenile Court for disposition.

Disposition

The disposition, or punishment is often in the form of community service, restriction or suspension of driving priviliges or written essays.

Overview

One of the biggest benefits of the Satellite Juvenile Court is to instill a sense of respect for the community's laws in juveniles. Not only is this system beneficial for the community's young people, but it has been well received by the local law enforcement officials. Working closely with the police departments and keeping in touch is a basic function of the Satellite Court. Because the police see immediate results from the juvenile arrests they make, they feel it's worth their time to monitor the youth's activity more closely.

The opinions of the parents of the juveniles are important. When parents see that the community cares about its youth and will punish illegal behavior, they too, are more likely to monitor their children's behavior.

History

The Satellite Juvenile Court of Washington Township and the City of Centerville was established through a combined effort of both communities in direct response to citizen concerns regarding activities of young people. Since it's inception in 1991 the Court has heard over a thousand cases.