Balt. City Cir. Ct. Juvenile Policies and Procedures

Policies and Procedures

• Motions for Postponement – Requests to postpone matters must be made in the form of a written Motion and filed in the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office. Postponement Motions are set in for a hearing on a Judge’s docket approximately two days after a Motion is filed. All parties, pursuant to the Rules, must be notified.

• Emergency Relief – Parents of guardians seeking Emergency Orders for Psychiatric Evaluations of minors may, during normal court hours, appear at the Juvenile Court Clerk’s office and complete a Petition for an Emergency Evaluation. Those Petitions are set immediately before a Judge for a hearing. The Juvenile Court also conducts hearings on Emergency Requests for Medical Treatment in instances where a parent or guardian refuses to consent to necessary medical care.

• Discovery – In Delinquency, the discovery is made at arraignment. In CINA Cases, discovery begins after shelter-care hearing. In TPR cases, discovery is set forth in pre-trial scheduling.

• Initial Permanency Planning Hearings – In any instance where the Court grants an Order of Shelter Care upon an initial petition, the Court shall set the Initial Permanency Planning Review 11 months from that date. The Permanency Planning Hearing shall be set on the same day of the week as the day the Shelter Care order was issued and shall be set on the appropriate settlement docket for Initial Permanency Planning Review. If the case does not result in an order of commitment, then the Initial Permanency Hearing shall be cancelled.

• Motions for Waiver (from juvenile to criminal court) – Motions for Waiver are heard by a Judge and are always scheduled in the morning to allow processing of these cases by the Criminal Court and Correctional Staff when a Motion to Transfer is granted.

Motions for Transfer (from Criminal to Juvenile Court) – Motions for transfer should be heard by a Criminal Court in the morning to permit the processing of these cases by the Juvenile Court and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for purposes of detention. Counsel who successfully represent a juvenile defendant in a Motion for Waiver hearing are REQUIRED to enter their appearance and represent the juvenile in the Juvenile Court. The Juvenile Court schedules an arraignment and detention hearing immediately after it receives the order of transfer. Defense Counsel is expected to be available.