When may a juvenile division judge issue a warrant to have a juvenile or guardian brought to court, and what must have happened first?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind we read the summons the juvenile division judge set for the hearing or investigation, the paper showing how and when it was served on the case subject or guardian, any explanation that person gave for not appearing, and the warrant of apprehension itself.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision step by step: where the judge considers it necessary for the investigation or the hearing, the judge sets a date and may summon the case subject, the guardian or a reference witness; if the case subject or the guardian fails to respond to that summons without just reason, the judge may then issue a warrant of apprehension.
Another reading marks the boundary of the warrant: the power to issue it is written only for a case subject or guardian who fails to respond, not for a reference witness, and the provision does not say what reasons count as just, nor what must follow once the person has been brought in.
Your judgment
When a juvenile or guardian did not appear, what in the file could show whether the absence had a just reason?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to set out what counts as a just reason for not responding, or if a court decision states what a juvenile division judge must record before issuing such a warrant.