Could a Louisiana juvenile court impose a juror fee after a delinquency adjudication?

Plain-English summary

A Jefferson Parish juvenile court judge asked whether a fee imposed on criminal defendants should also be assessed when a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent. In Opinion 03-0324, the AG answered no. The fee applied to criminal defendants, whereas a juvenile delinquency case resulted in an adjudication rather than a criminal conviction.

The AG gave a second reason tied to the fee's purpose: it paid jurors, and the cited Louisiana Children's Code articles provided no jury-trial right in juvenile cases. The opinion did not identify every fee that might apply in juvenile court; it addressed the particular criminal-defendant fee presented in the request.

Currency note

The full issue date is not legible in the available official extract. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Juvenile court judges and clerks

The AG concluded that the fee should not be imposed in delinquency adjudications. Its analysis turned on the difference between criminal convictions and juvenile adjudications and on the absence of a juvenile jury trial under the cited Code articles.

Juveniles and their representatives

For the fee asked about in this opinion, an adjudication of delinquency did not place the juvenile in the category of criminal defendants to whom the fee applied. The opinion did not resolve other court charges.

Common questions

Was a delinquency adjudication treated as a criminal conviction for this fee?

No. The AG said juvenile proceedings did not involve criminal convictions, so the fee directed at criminal defendants did not apply.

Did the fee's juror-cost purpose change the answer?

It reinforced the AG's conclusion. The opinion said there was no jury-trial right in the juvenile cases covered by the cited Children's Code articles.

Background and statutory framework

The AG described juvenile proceedings as neither criminal nor civil and cited Louisiana appellate decisions on that distinction. It also relied on Louisiana Children's Code articles 808 and 882 when explaining why a fee meant to pay jurors had no purpose in a juvenile delinquency adjudication.

Citations and references

• La. Ch. C. Art. 808 and La. Ch. C. Art. 882: juvenile jury-trial provisions cited by the AG.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0324

Original opinion text

~t~te o~
P.O. BOX 94095
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BATON ROUGE, LA 70804-9095
RICHARD P. IEYOUB CRIMINAL DIVISION Telephone:
ATTORNEY GENERAL
(225) 342-7552
FAX:
(225) 342-7893
SEP 1 5 003
Open,on No. 03-0324

Judge Ann Murry Keller
Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court 57-A JUVENILES

1546 Gretna Blvd.
In Re State In Interest of Curley, 287 So. 2d 558; In re State in Interest
P.O. Box 1900
of Taylor255 So.2d 361’ La. Ch. C. Art. 808; La. Ch. C. Art. 882
Harvey, LA 70059
A fee required in cases of criminal defendants does not apply to adjudications of delinquency and should not be imposed in such
Dear Judge Keller: cases.

Our office has received your request for an opinion concerning whether juvenile courts are required to impose a fee in delinquency adjudications in addition to criminal convictions.

A juvenile proceeding is neither criminal nor civil, but sui generis. In Re State In Interest of Curley, 287 So. 2d 558, La. App. 1 Cir. 1974. Furthermore, juvenile proceedings are not criminal proceedings and do not involve convictions, but adjudications of delinquency. In re State in Interest of Taylor255 So.2d 361 La.App. 1 Cir., 1971.

Since the fee in question is to apply to criminal defendants, and juvenile offenders are not considered criminal defendants, the law imposing the fee would not seem to apply to adjudications of delinquency. Furthermore, since the purpose of the fee is to pay jurors, and under Louisiana Children’s Code articles 808 and 882, there is no right to trial by jury in juvenile cases, there would be no purpose behind imposing the fee in matters of juvenile adjudications of delinquency.

Therefore, we are of the opinion that the fee should not be imposed in matters of adjudications of delinquency.

Very truly yours,

BY:

IFJ/cs/jy