ASSEMBLY, No. 965

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman FELICE

An Act concerning juveniles and amending P.L.1982, c.77.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Section 5 of P.L.1982, c.77 (C.2A:4A-24) is amended to read as follows:

    5. Exclusive jurisdiction of the court and nature of jurisdiction; venue.

    a. Except as otherwise provided by law, the court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in all cases where it is charged that a juvenile has committed an act of delinquency and over all matters relating to a juvenile-family crisis. Upon the determination that a juvenile has committed an act of delinquency or that a juvenile-family crisis exists, the court may impose such disposition or dispositions over those persons subject to its jurisdiction consistent with the purposes of this act.

    Such jurisdiction shall extend in these matters over a juvenile and his parent, guardian or any family member found by the court to be contributing to a juvenile-family crisis. The court shall, in accordance with the Rules of Court, clearly specify the responsibilities of those subject to its jurisdiction with respect to the plan of rehabilitation for the juvenile.

    b. The court shall have jurisdiction in respect to the custody of any juvenile who may be held as a material witness in any case pending in the court. Whenever a juvenile is a material witness in any other court, the procedures established by this act shall be followed.

    c. Juveniles who appear before the court in any capacity shall be deemed to be wards of the court and protected accordingly.

    d. Nothing in this act shall affect the jurisdiction of other courts over offenses committed after a juvenile under the jurisdiction of the court reaches the age of 18 years.

    e. Venue shall lie in the county in which the delinquent act was committed or where the juvenile-family crisis occured.

(cf: P.L.1982, c.77, s.5)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require all cases where a juvenile has been charged with a delinquent act to be tried in the county in which the delinquent act was committed. The bill would also require all cases where a juvenile-family crisis exists to be tried in the county where the crisis occured.

    Currently, juvenile delinquency actions are tried in the counties where the juvenile resides, or in actions where more than one juvenile is charged with a delinquent act, in the county where the act occured.

Requires venue in juvenile cases be in the county where the act was committed.