Juvenile Charged as Adults in Criminal Court and Held in Facilities for Adults in the Interest of Justice

Greetings,

Effective December 21, 2021, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP Act) as amended by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, requires that a juvenile who is charged as an adult cannot be detained in an adult jail or lockup or have sight or sound contact with adult inmates unless the Court has found that it would be in the “interest of justice” to do so.

Under the JJDP Act, as amended, a court must determine, after a hearing, and in writing, whether it is in the interest of justice to permit a juvenile to be detained in a jail or lockup for adults (unless one of the exceptions at 34 U.S.C. § 11133(a)(13) applies), or have sight or sound contact with adult inmates. The court must hold a hearing at least every 30 days (at least every 45 days in a rural jurisdiction) to review whether it is still in the interest of justice to continue to detain the juvenile in an adult jail or lockup or such that they have contact with adult inmates. In determining whether it is in the interest of justice to detain (or continue to detain) a juvenile, the court must consider:

1. The age of the juvenile;
2. The physical and mental maturity of the juvenile;
3. The present mental state of the juvenile, including whether the juvenile presents an imminent risk of harm to the juvenile;
4. The nature and circumstances of the alleged offense;
5. The juvenile’s history of prior delinquent acts;
6. The relative ability of the available adult and juvenile detention facilities to not only meet the specific needs of the juvenile but also to protect the safety of the public as well as other detained youth; and
7. Any other relevant factor(s).

Under this new requirement, the maximum amount of time that a juvenile charged as an adult may be detained in an adult jail or lockup or have sight or sound contact with adult inmates is 180 days. The 180-day limit may be extended if the court determines, in writing, that there is good cause for such an extension, or if the juvenile expressly waives this limitation.

Written orders by a court pertaining to juveniles charged in criminal court and confined at a facility for adults in the interest of justice should be retained at the confining facility and made available to Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) Youth Development Division (YDD) as part of the FY22 detention report (December 21, 2021 – September 30, 2022), in order to certify that the interest of justice requirement has been met. Adult facilities that do not confine juveniles may submit a declaration report in lieu of detention data to certify compliance for FY22.

Resources for determining who qualifies as an adult inmate or when a juvenile has been detained in the interest of justice are available, in addition to a custody log for recording juveniles detained in order to certify compliance.

For more information, please see the division's rules (OAR) for monitoring under the 2018 JJDP Act: Definitions (OAR 423-155-0001); Maintaining Compliance with Custody and Facility (OAR 423-155-0010); and Technical Assistance for Institutions out of Compliance (OAR 423-155-0025).

For questions or comments, please call (503) 510-3606 or email YDD.ComplianceMonitoring@state.or.us.