Texas Appleseed and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid have produced a series of “Youth in Court” videos to explain the court process for children under 17 and how to defend against common Class C misdemeanor charges available here.
- Note that the videos were produced in 2014 and “Failure to Attend School” (commonly referred to as truancy) is no longer a criminal charge. While you may still be referred to justice of municipal court for Failure to Attend School, your case should not involve fines or a criminal conviction.
Alternative Sentencing Options
- If you are under 17, you do not have to prove that you are unable to pay a fine before asking for an alternative sentence. Alternative sentences are available to people under 17 regardless of their individual income or their household income.
- You can still choose to pay the fine in full if you prefer to do that.
- Or at any point, regardless of your income or your household income, you may request the court consider any of the following as your sentence instead of paying the fine:
- tutoring
- counseling
- mentoring
- job training
- community service
- alcohol or drug abuse rehabilitation
- or other options that are related to the charge.
- If you’re ordered to attend a class, the court can also order your parents or guardian to attend a class with you.
- You can also ask for a payment plan, but only do that if you're reasonably sure you'll be able to make the payments.
Youth Diversion
- If you are under 17, you are also eligible to avoid criminal charges entirely through youth diversion. You will either be informed of the possibility of participating in youth diversion prior to the charge being filed, or the judge can refer you to youth diversion without you having to enter a plea.
- Under youth diversion, you and your parents will sign a diversion agreement, which will include one or more diversions that you must complete.
- Diversions include counseling, classes, work training, community service, etc.
- The court may have adopted a youth diversion plan that includes the types of programs that are offered.
- Failure to meet the requirements of the diversion agreement will result in a hearing before the court, where the judge can either extend the time to fulfill the diversion agreement, amend the diversion agreement, determine that the diversion agreement was met, or determine that the diversion was unsuccessful. If the court determines that the diversion was unsuccessful, the case will be referred to the prosecutor for consideration of re-filing.
- Entering into a diversion agreement requires a fee, but it must be waived if your parents show that they are unable to pay.
- After you successfully complete the diversion agreement, your case will be closed. The records will be automatically expunged on your 18th birthday.
- Unlike deferred dispositions and alternative sentencing, participation in a diversion program is not an admission of guilt, and entering a guilty plea is not required to participate in a diversion program.
- You are only eligible to enter into a youth diversion program once every twelve months. If you have previously failed to complete a diversion agreement, you are also not eligible for the program.
- Under youth diversion, you and your parents will sign a diversion agreement, which will include one or more diversions that you must complete.
Deferred Dispositions & Juvenile Case Managers
- Courts will often offer deferred dispositions to people under 17 in fine-only cases. This means that if you complete the conditions imposed by the court, the charge will be dismissed.
- Conditions often include tutoring, counseling, classes, community service, etc.
- If you don't complete the terms of the deferred, you will be convicted and ordered to pay a fine and costs. You will still have the right to request an alternative way to resolve those fines and costs, as discussed above.
- Sometimes, the court will charge a fine or fee as part of the deferred disposition. If you cannot pay the fine or fee, but still want to enter the deferred disposition agreement, tell the court you are unable to pay. The fine or fee can be waived by the court or converted into community service like any other fine.
- Some courts also have “teen court” options.
- This allows defendants to plead no contest or guilty and have their case heard by their peers.
- Penalties are normally given in the form of community service or educational programs.
- Typically if you complete the ordered community service or programming within a specified time frame, the charges against you will be dismissed.
- Some courts employ juvenile case managers that you may have to check in with periodically if you have been given an alternative sentence or if you are placed on deferred disposition (aka “probation”).
Expungement
- You have special rights as a juvenile to have your record expunged. Even if you were convicted, you have the right to have your record expunged when you turn 17 if you were only convicted of one fine-only offense.
- Texas no longer punishes truancy as a criminal offense. All Failure to Attend School convictions prior to the law change in September 2015 should have been expunged.