In Hammond, Louisiana, dealing with the juvenile court can be stressful. It’s important to understand pre-disposition investigations beforehand and how they affect the juvenile court. When dealing with juvenile cases, it’s best to use a law firm that deals with family law and juvenile criminal defense.
What are pre-disposition investigations
A pre-disposition investigations grant the court accurate, timely and relevant data so they can select the best disposition. A pre-disposition investigation normally comes after adjudication. The court can ask for a pre-disposition investigation before adjudication, but the child has to talk to their juvenile criminal defense team and consent. A juvenile criminal defense attorney needs to present the pre-disposition investigation before the disposition starts. Courts should do pre-disposition investigations as often as possible for accurate dispositions.
Information found in pre-disposition investigations
Pre-disposition investigation outlines are in the Louisiana Children’s Code. There’s a lot of information in an investigation, which includes:
- The minor’s location
- Reason for the hearing
- The minor’s attitude about offenses
- Parent’s attitude about the offenses
- Prior offense history
- Victim impact statement
- The minor’s data
- Family’s data
- Co-defendants
- Sources of information
- Recommendation
- Evaluative summary
- Outline of the minor’s service plan
Effects of the pre-disposition investigation
The information found by the Pre-disposition investigation helps understand the defendant and provides a better punishment. If the court doesn’t have an investigation done before a disposition, other agencies may do investigations. If the court sentences the minor to 30 days or more, the parole and probation officer will run their social history within 30 days. A probation officer will also do a full assessment of all minors during juvenile criminal defense cases.
The pre-disposition investigation is important to do during the juvenile court process. Investigations allow the juvenile defendant and legal team to get the fairest results. With accurate case data, the court can better understand the situation and the defendant.
