Before a juvenile is examined about criminal facts, who must tell the juvenile of the right to refuse statements, and when must that notice be given?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind, we read the record of the examination itself, to see whether the juvenile department or the investigator conducted it and what was said at the start, and any separate paper in which the notice given to the juvenile was recorded, to see whether it came before the questions about the criminal facts began.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the timing word at face value: when a juvenile department or an investigator examines a juvenile about criminal facts, the notice that the juvenile may refuse a statement adverse to them must be given beforehand, so notice given after questioning has started does not meet what the provision requires.
Another reading notes that the provision fixes who gives the notice and when, but says nothing about its form or how the giving of it is proved, so the file has to show the fact of the prior notice by whatever record the examination produced.
Your judgment
If the record of the examination does not show the notice, how could the practice file otherwise establish that it was given before the questioning?
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 change who must give the notice or its timing, or if a court decision decides what record is needed to show that the notice was given.