In a juvenile protection case, who may order an inspection, seizure or search, and which rules govern how those measures are carried out?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material of this kind, we read the written order for the inspection, seizure or search and look for the signature of the juvenile division judge, the note of what and where was examined or taken, and any list of the items seized, since each shows who acted and on what material the measure rested.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision at its word: the juvenile division judge is the actor who may carry out an inspection, seizure or search in a juvenile protection case, and for that the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act on court-ordered inspection, seizure and search are applied mutatis mutandis insofar as they are not contrary to the nature of the protection case.
Another reading turns on the condition attached to that application: the Criminal Procedure Act rules apply only 'insofar as they are not contrary to the nature of the protection case', so the provision does not settle which of those rules, such as those on warrants or on the scope of a search, survive that test in a given file.
Your judgment
Where a Criminal Procedure Act requirement on inspection, seizure or search sits awkwardly with the protective nature of the case, what in the file shows why it was applied or dispensed with?
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 may order these measures, or if a court decision decides which Criminal Procedure Act rules are or are not contrary to the nature of a protection case.