2016 Delaware Code
Title 10 - Courts and Judicial Procedures
CHAPTER 9. THE FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Subchapter II Jurisdiction and Powers
§ 928. Extended jurisdiction — Juvenile delinquency.

(a) Prior to trial upon petition of the Attorney General, the State may seek extended jurisdiction of the Family Court over a juvenile up to age 21.

(b) Extended jurisdiction shall mean that a juvenile subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Court, if found delinquent of the offense(s) giving rise to the petition, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Family Court until said juvenile reaches age 21 or is discharged from jurisdiction by the Court.

(c) The determination whether extended jurisdiction is appropriate shall be made by the Family Court based upon the juvenile's need for rehabilitation and the public's right to safety and shall take into consideration the following:

(1) The seriousness of the underlying offense(s), with extended jurisdiction presumed to be appropriate where a juvenile has committed a class A or B felony or a felony sexual offense, excluding those crimes set forth in § 1010(a)(1) of this title;

(2) The age of the juvenile at the time of trial or disposition, with consideration being primarily based upon the time needed to effectively rehabilitate the juvenile or to protect the public and whether either or both objectives may be met by the juvenile's eighteenth birthday.

(d) A determination by the Family Court that extended jurisdiction is appropriate shall only be subject to review on an abuse of discretion standard.

(e) In any case where extended jurisdiction is determined to be appropriate, the juvenile is found delinquent of the crime(s) giving rise to extended jurisdiction and, further rehabilitation of the juvenile is ordered at a Level IV or V facility, review of the appropriateness of continued placement at Level IV or V shall be conducted by the Court at 6-month intervals after the juvenile's eighteenth birthday. A failure to conduct a review within 30 days of a 6-month interval shall result in the Department of Correction assuming jurisdiction for purpose of placement, with a presumption that a placement at less than Level IV or V facility will be imposed. The review period herein set forth may be extended for a period of 60 days upon good cause shown by the State in a petition filed by the State prior to the expiration of the 6-month plus 30-day period.

(f) Juveniles placed in the extended jurisdiction program shall be considered subject to the processes of the Family Court until the termination of the Court's order. In the event that a person who has reached one's eighteenth birthday commits any crimes while subject to extended jurisdiction, the commission of said crime(s) shall be considered a violation of the extended jurisdiction program, subjecting said violator to any sanction the Family Court could have originally imposed upon the offense(s) giving rise to extended jurisdiction, including placement at a Level IV or V facility housing adult offenders. Trial of any person who has turned age 18 for an offense(s) committed while subject to extended jurisdiction shall be in the appropriate court as required by Delaware law. Any sentence of incarceration imposed by an adult court shall take precedent to and be in lieu of any sentence of incarceration imposed by the Family Court pursuant to extended jurisdiction for the original offense or a violation of the extended jurisdiction program.

(g) Nothing contained herein shall affect the provisions of § 1010 of this title concerning amenability or § 1447(d) of Title 11, except that upon agreement of the State and the juvenile, a juvenile may agree to be subjected to extended jurisdiction in lieu of being proceeded against pursuant to the provisions of § 1010 of this title or § 1447(d) of Title 11.

(h) For purposes of this section, Level IV and Level V facilities are defined as follows:

(1) A facility includes any treatment center, institution or any other place designated for confinement;

(2) A Level IV facility is a place of partial confinement such as a half-way house, residential treatment facility, or restitution facility. It may include house arrest at the juvenile's home, or at a shelter, group home, foster home or other facility. For juveniles who have reached their 18th birthday, a Level IV facility shall include any similar house or facility of the Department of Correction;

(3) A Level V facility is a place of confinement in a secured facility. For juveniles who have reached their eighteenth birthday, a Level V facility shall include any secured facility of confinement of the Department of Correction.

69 Del. Laws, c. 96, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 385, § 1.;