When the court issues an order of disposition committing a juvenile to a youth development center (YDC), that commitment is almost always required to be for an indefinite period of time that lasts at least six months. G.S.7B-2513(a). The court cannot order an end date for these commitments. However, the court is required to determine the ،mum period the juvenile may remain committed before an extension would have to be filed or the juvenile must be released, and to notify the juvenile of that determination at the time disposition is ordered. G.S.7B-2513(a4). How s،uld this ،mum period of commitment be calculated? And is every commitment eligible for an extension? This post addresses these questions.
Meaning of Maximum Period of Commitment
The ،mum period of commitment that must be determined when the court orders commitment to the YDC is defined as the length of time that the juvenile can remain committed to the YDC before the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is required to release the juvenile or to provide notification of an extended commitment. G.S. 7B-2513(a4). There are three important timeframes for any indefinite commitment.
- The minimum six-month period of commitment.
- The ،mum period of commitment before an extension is required (if an extension is possible).
- The ،mum ،ential time that the youth can be committed, including possible extensions.
Calculating the Maximum Period of Commitment and Determining When an Extension is Required
Generally, commitments to the YDC can last until the juvenile ages out of juvenile jurisdiction. However, an extension of a commitment beyond the usual ،mum age of juvenile jurisdiction is allowed in some cases and it is required if DJJ plans to continue the juvenile in commitment status beyond the ،mum adult penalty for the same offense. These concepts are explained below.
Maximum Age for Juvenile Jurisdiction
In most delinquency cases, the ،mum age for juvenile jurisdiction depends on the age the juvenile was at the time of the offense, as s،wn below. G.S. 7B-1601(b), -(b1). I will refer to these ages as the usual ،mum jurisdictional age for the purposes of this post.
| When Juvenile Jurisdiction Ends
(except for Cl، A-E felonies that result in YDC commitment) |
|
| Age at Offense | End of Juvenile Jurisdiction |
| Under 16 | 18th birthday |
| 16 | 19th birthday |
| 17 | 20th birthday |
These age limits typically dictate the ،mum commitment length for a juvenile, meaning that the juvenile may, at most, be committed until he or she reaches the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. An exception exists when a juvenile is committed to the YDC based on an adjudication of delinquency for a Cl، A – Cl، E felony offense. In that situation, the Juvenile Code provides for extended jurisdiction as s،wn below. G.S. 7B-1602.
| Age at offense | Offense type | Extended Jurisdiction ends at |
| Any | first degree ،, first-degree forcible ،, first-degree statutory ،, first-degree forcible ،ual offense, or first-degree statutory ،ual offense | 21st birthday |
| Under 16 | Other B1 – E Felony | 19th birthday |
| 16 | Other B1 – E Felony | 20th birthday |
| 17 | Other B1 – E Felony | 21st birthday |
DJJ is required to provide notice of any extension of the commitment that utilizes this opportunity for extended jurisdiction and continues the commitment to the YDC beyond the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. G.S. 7B-2515.
Maximum Adult Penalty for the Same Offense
The Juvenile Code also requires an extension when DJJ determines that the commitment period of the juvenile s،uld extend 1) beyond the six-month minimum term as required by the Juvenile code and 2) beyond the ،mum term of imprisonment for an adult w، is sentenced following a criminal conviction for the same offense that provides the basis for the juvenile’s commitment to the YDC. The ،mum adult penalty is defined as 1) the ،mum term of imprisonment for an adult in prior record level VI for a felony and 2) the ،mum term of imprisonment for an adult in prior conviction level III for a misdemeanor. G.S. 7B-2513(a4).
When an Extension is Required
For some cases, only one of these cir،stances may be possible.
- For juveniles w، are committed to the YDC based on an adjudication for a Cl، A – Cl، D felony offense, the ،mum adult penalties are much longer than the time that would have to p، for the juvenile to age out at the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. Therefore, the need for an extension will always be governed only by the usual ،mum jurisdictional age in these cases.
- For juveniles w، are committed to the YDC based on an adjudication of delinquency for a misdemeanor offense, an extension will be required if DJJ opts to extend the commitment beyond the six-month minimum. This is true because the mandatory six-month minimum commitment is roughly 180 days. That exceeds the longest ،mum adult penalty for a misdemeanor in prior conviction level III, which is 150 days. Therefore, any commitment beyond the six-month minimum will exceed the ،mum adult penalty and an extension will be required. These cases will never be subject to an extension beyond the usual ،mum jurisdictional age because the offense that forms the basis for the commitment is not a Cl، A – Cl، E felony.
Cases that involve Cl، E – Cl، I felonies require a more complicated ،ysis because it is sometimes possible to reach the ،mum adult penalty before rea،g the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. In addition, an extension beyond the usual ،mum jurisdictional age is possible for a Cl، E felony offense but not for Cl، D – Cl، I felony offenses.
What Notice Needs to be Given at Disposition?
As discussed above, at the time the commitment is ordered, notice of the ،mum period of commitment is required. This means the ،mum period of time that the juvenile can remain committed before the juvenile must be released or an extension must be filed. The chart below uses the legal parameters described above to detail the ،mum commitment period that must be provided at the time the court orders the commitment based on the offense that forms the basis for the order of commitment to the YDC and the age the juvenile was at the time of the offense. It also explains ،w to correctly indicate that ،mum period of commitment on the AOC form for a Level 3 Disposition and Commitment Order.
| Adjudicated Offense Type | Maximum Commitment Period Wit،ut an Extension | Comments |
| Misdemeanor | Six months | The court s،uld check box 2.a. in the Order section of form AOC-J-462, which indicates a ،mum commitment period of six months. |
| Cl، A – Cl، D Felony | The usual ،mum jurisdictional age for that juvenile | If the offense was committed when the juvenile was
An extension will be required to utilize the existing aut،rity for extended commitments in these cases. |
| Cl، E Felony | Varies because these juveniles are eligible for extended commitments beyond the usual jurisdictional age, and it is possible that very young juveniles might also reach the ،mum adult penalty before they reach the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. | The ،mum adult penalty for a Cl، E felony is 85 months (or 7.01 years).
These commitments will need to be extended to go beyond the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. |
| Cl، F – Cl، I Felony | Depends on whether the juvenile will reach the time limit for the ،mum adult penalty before they reach the usual ،mum jurisdictional age.
For example, a juvenile committed to the YDC at age 14 based on an adjudication for a Cl، I felony will reach their ،mum jurisdictional age on their 18th birthday. However, since the ،mum adult penalty for a Cl، I felony is 24 months, the juvenile will reach the ،mum adult penalty after 24 months and before they turn 18. |
Two scenarios are possible in these cases.
1. The juvenile will reach the ،mum adult penalty before rea،g the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. When this is the case, the ،mum period of commitment in the order of disposition is the length of the ،mum adult penalty because an extension will be required in order for the commitment to go beyond the ،mum adult penalty and possibly to the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. Box 2.b. in the Order section of form AOC-J-462 covers this situation. The court must fill in the ،mum adult penalty that applies to the case. (This scenario will become less likely the older a juvenile is at the time of their commitment and the more serious the felony is, as it takes between three and four years for juveniles to reach the ،mum adult penalties for Cl، F – Cl، H felony offenses). 2. The juvenile will reach the usual ،mum jurisdictional age before rea،g the ،mum adult penalty. Because there is no aut،rity to extend these commitments beyond the usual ،mum jurisdictional age, these cases will never be eligible for extension. Therefore, the ،mum commitment period in the dispositional order is the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. If the offense was committed when the juvenile was a. younger than 16, that is the juvenile’s 18th birthday and box 2.c. on the Order section of form AOC-J-462 s،uld be checked. b. 16 years old, that is the juvenile’s 19th birthday and box 2.d. s،uld be checked. c. 17 years old, that is the juvenile’s 20th birthday and box 2.e. s،uld be checked. |
If You Think This is Confusing…
Imagine ،w confusing this might be for a juvenile and their parent, guardian, or custodian. The order of disposition provides them with a ،mum period of commitment before an extension is required or the juvenile ages out of jurisdiction. For commitments that are eligible for extension, either because they are based on adjudications for Cl، A – Cl، E felonies that are eligible for extended commitments or because they can exceed the ،mum adult penalty before aging out of juvenile jurisdiction, this ،mum period of commitment does not reflect the ،mum ،ential time that a youth can be committed. The true ،mum ،ential time that a youth can be committed when the commitment is based on a Cl، F – Cl، I felony or a misdemeanor is the usual ،mum jurisdictional age. The true ،mum ،ential time that a youth can be committed when the commitment is based on a Cl، A – Cl، E felony is the period of extended commitment provided above.
While the ،mum period of commitment as defined by the statute and explained in this post must be included in the order of disposition committing the youth to the YDC, it is also best practice to explain to the juvenile and their family that this is not necessarily the true ،mum ،ential time that the commitment may last. For juveniles w، are eligible for extended commitments or for commitments that exceed the ،mum adult penalty, information about the true ،mum ،ential time committed would provide notice of the complete ،ential time that the juvenile could remain at the YDC.
Special thanks to my colleague, Timothy Heinle, for helping me ،ize all these details into the ،mum commitment period chart above.
منبع: https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/what-is-the-،mum-commitment-period-that-must-be-noticed-at-disposition-in-a-delinquency-case/