US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

      38-1633.   Pretrial hearings. (a) When the respondent appears in response to a complaint without an attorney, the court shall inform the respondent of the following:

      (1)   The nature of the charges in the complaint;

      (2)   the right to hire an attorney of the respondent's own choice;

      (3)   the duty of the court to appoint an attorney for the respondent if no attorney is hired by the respondent or parent; and

      (4)   that the court may require the respondent or parents to pay the expense of a court appointed attorney.

      Upon request the court shall give the respondent or parent an opportunity to hire an attorney. If no request is made or the respondent or parents are financially unable to hire an attorney, the court shall forthwith appoint an attorney for the respondent. The court shall afford the respondent an opportunity to confer with the attorney before requiring the respondent to plead to the allegations of the complaint.

      (b)   When the respondent appears with an attorney in response to a complaint, the court shall require the respondent to plead guilty or not guilty to the allegations stated in the complaint or plead nolo contendere, unless there is an application for and approval of an immediate intervention program. Prior to making this requirement, the court shall inform the respondent of the following:

      (1)   The nature of the charges in the complaint;

      (2)   the right of the respondent to be presumed innocent of each charge;

      (3)   the right to trial without unnecessary delay and to confront and cross-examine witnesses appearing in support of the allegations of the complaint;

      (4)   the right to subpoena witnesses;

      (5)   the right of the respondent to testify or to decline to testify; and

      (6)   the sentencing alternatives the court may select as the result of the juvenile being adjudged to be a juvenile offender.

      (c)   If the respondent pleads guilty to the allegations contained in a complaint or pleads nolo contendere, the court shall determine, before accepting the plea and entering a sentence: (1) That there has been a voluntary waiver of the rights enumerated in subsections (b)(2), (3), (4) and (5); and (2) that there is a factual basis for the plea.

      (d)   If the respondent pleads not guilty, the court shall schedule a time and date for trial to the court.

      (e)   Pretrial hearings may be conducted by two-way electronic audio-video communication between the alleged juvenile offender and the judge in lieu of personal presence of the juvenile or the juvenile's counsel in the courtroom from any location within Kansas in the discretion of the court. The juvenile may be accompanied by the juvenile's counsel during such proceedings or counsel may be personally present in court as long as a means of communication between the juvenile and the juvenile's counsel is available for consultation between the juvenile and the juvenile's counsel in confidence.

      History:   L. 1982, ch. 182, § 87; L. 1996, ch. 229, § 65;L. 1997, ch. 156, § 55; July 1.