4th District Juvenile Court - FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. How do I get an extension on my account?

You can request an extension from the Judge by coming to the court building and filling out a Modification form. The Judge will look to see if you have made an honest effort to get your account paid before the due date given in Court. You will be notified by mail if the judge denied or granted your request. If you received an overdue letter, you can call the number on the letter and make payment arrangement with the Collections clerk.

2. How long will it take for me to get my restitution?

It is the policy of the Court to hold the juvenile responsible. For that reason it may take longer than you expect to receive your restitution. Juveniles under age 16 may work off their restitution at $4.00 per hour with the Court. Money is forwarded to victims as juveniles pay their restitution or work the hours to receive credit to pay their restitution. Processing takes 3 to 4 weeks after the court receives payment.

3. Do I need an attorney? How do I get a public defender?

Everyone is entitled to representation by counsel. Most of the cases heard in juvenile court do not have an attorney. You can decide if you want representation at any stage of the court process. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney you may fill out an affidavit with the Court and be considered for a public defender. The Court is under strict guidelines regarding the qualifications for appointment. After filling out the affidavit the Judge will review it and determine if you qualify. You will be notified by mail if you are granted or denied a public defender.

4. How do I get my record expunged?

You must be past your 18th birthday to apply for expungement. You must come to the Court, get the Petition for Expungement paperwork to fill out and contact the Bureau of Criminal Identification to receive a clearance form. There is a fee for this form. Bring it, with your Petition paperwork filled out and a $50 filing fee to the cashier's office at the Court. A hearing will be set approximately 30 days later and the Judge will determine whether your juvenile record will be expunged or not.

5. How do I get a protective order?

Juvenile Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court with protective orders. However, Juvenile Court cannot issue a protective order for a parent against a parent. The process requires filling out the paperwork and having the judge review it for validity. If it is signed then the Ex Parte protective order (which is a temporary order) is granted for a period not to exceed days. A hearing is held during this time and the judge will then decide if the order will be a permanent order.

6. When will I go to court?

After you receive a citation from a police officer, that citation is sent to the court. It is screened to determine if it must go straight to court or can be handled by the CDU (Citation Diversion Unit). You may receive a letter informing you that you need to attend a preliminary inquiry meeting with an intake officer. If the incident needs to see the judge you will be notified by mail of a court date and time. This will be from two to six weeks following the original issuing of the citation.

7. How do I become emancipated?

Click here for Emancipation Information

8. Where do I send my payment?

Juvenile Court has several locations in the district that can receive payments. You may mail your payment to the office that handles your area.

If you live in Fillmore and Delta, mail it to: 765 S. Hwy 99, Suite 5 Fillmore UT 84631

If you live in Nephi, south Utah County and the Provo area, mail it to: 2021 S. State, Provo UT 84604

If you live in Orem, north Utah County and Heber, mail it to: 99 E. Center, Orem UT 84057 Be sure to address it to the 4th District Juvenile Court and include your case number on all checks and money orders. DO NOT sent cash. Credit card payments cannot be made at this time, but will be accepted in the future.

9. I'm having trouble with an ungovernable child.

What can I do? Vantage Point, formerly known as Youth Service Center, provides short term shelter, counseling and social work services to ungovernable youth ages 12-18. This includes runaways, homeless youth, and youth in emotional crisis. They have a web site!! www.wasatch.org They are located at 1185 E 300 N, Provo. Phone: 373-2215. 24 hour crisis line: 801-373-7393.

10. What will the judge order?

This is mainly up to the judge upon recommendations from the probation officer. However, for a second alcohol offense and any first time drug offenses, the legislature has mandated that the juvenile's drivers license be suspended. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles, their web site is dmv.utah.gov) will determine the length of time that the license is suspended. Usually it is three months for a first time suspension and increases in length of time for each additional offense.

11. What should I say in Court?

You should always be respectful in court and should address the judge as 'Your Honor'. When asked about an alleged offense, you should honestly answer stating whether it is true or false.

12. Can I talk to the judge?

To remain objective and impartial the judge is constrained against talking to parties outside court. If you question the orders of the Court, you may request a review hearing where all interested parties are present. Then you may address the judge.

13. How long will I (my child) be on probation? on this program?

The time on probation or in a specific program is dependent upon the performance of the juvenile. If he/she is really serious about correcting inappropriate behavior then progress is made rapidly and the time on probation or in a program is relatively short.

14. The restitution check I received is only a part of what I requested. I have doctor (or repair) bills to pay. Is this all I will receive? Who can I talk to about this?

There are several reasons for a smaller than expected restitution check:

  • There were several juveniles involved in your loss. You will receive more restitution as they all complete paying their ordered restitution
  • The juvenile involved is making payments on the total. As these payments are made, they are forwarded to you until the balance is paid in full. You can review the amount being paid on the restitution check stub.
  • The Court didn't award the full amount you were asking for one reason or another. You may visit with the probation officer to get details of the order. And as a final resort you may request a restitution hearing to review the amount and present to the judge why you think it should be different. You may also take the case to Small Claims court to seek restitution from the juvenile. You may have to pay your own medical or repair bills and wait for the reimbursement from the juvenile later. You can call Victims Reparation for help with medical bills. Their number is 1-800-621-7444.

You should have received a letter with the juvenile's case number on it. You may call the court and request information on the status of the restitution for that case number. You may also ask to speak to the probation officer involved in this case.

15. Why do parents get punished for their kids' actions?

At Juvenile Court we try to hold the juvenile accountable for his/her actions. If your child is ordered a fine, we recommend that you do not pay it out of your money but encourage the child to earn it himself/herself. By doing this you are also holding your child accountable for his/her actions. Sometimes the parents are involved in taking their child to different programs to help them learn to make appropriate choices. This may seem a hardship to the parents until they realize that this will help hold the child accountable and will help them learn to make better choices in the future.

16. How do I get on a work crew?

If the judge orders community service hours as part of the fine for the juvenile, there will be a paper given as you leave court. This paper will direct you to a Wednesday meeting that will furnish all the details necessary for the juvenile to know how, when and where to work off their service hours. It will give instructions to the juveniles who are too old for the court supervised work crews where they can also do their hours and how to get them credited to their account. Be aware that you are responsible to get these hours completed by the court ordered due date. The work crew program does not take over that responsibility for you.

17. I can't get to court on the scheduled day. Can I reschedule my hearing?

The scheduling clerk for each judge will try to accommodate your schedule within reason. We realize that emergencies do arise and appreciate hearing from you quickly when you have an emergency. The morning of a hearing is extremely hard to reschedule. If you know that you have a major conflict, please let us have a week or more notice. We will do our best to reschedule your hearing. Please be aware that we cannot schedule everything after school in the afternoon as all the cases we hear involve school age children.

18. Why did my child receive a different sentence than the other children involved in the same incident?

Some juveniles appear before the judge only once or twice. Others appear frequently and are often involved in delinquent behavior. The probation officers consider all factors when making their recommendations to the judge.

19. How do I contact my lawyer? the Guardian ad Litem? Adult Parole and Probation? the County Attorney? a Public Defender?

Please be aware that all the above people work with the Court but are not permanently here at the courthouse. Many public defenders have private practices and all the above agencies have offices elsewhere in the area. Because they are not in our building, we cannot transfer calls to their offices.

20. The police kept our property that was recovered. How do I get it back?

The property can be released after the court hearing. Contact the probation officer in charge of your case to make arrangements with the police department to return your items.

For more information contact:

4th District Juvenile Court
137 N Freedom Blvd. Suite 150
Provo, UT 84601
(801) 354-7200