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260B.225 JUVENILE TRAFFIC OFFENDER; PROCEDURES; DISPOSITIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
meanings given them.
(b) "Major traffic offense" includes any violation of a state or local traffic law, ordinance,
or regulation, or a federal, state, or local water traffic law not included within the provisions of
paragraph (c).
(c) "Adult court traffic offense" means:
(1) a petty misdemeanor violation of a state or local traffic law, ordinance, or regulation, or a
petty misdemeanor violation of a federal, state, or local water traffic law; or
(2) a violation of section 169A.20 or any other misdemeanor- or gross misdemeanor-level
traffic violation committed as part of the same behavioral incident as a violation of section
169A.20.
    Subd. 2. Juvenile highway traffic offender. A child who commits a major traffic offense
shall be adjudicated a "juvenile highway traffic offender" or a "juvenile water traffic offender," as
the case may be, and shall not be adjudicated delinquent, unless, as in the case of any other child
alleged to be delinquent, a petition is filed in the manner provided in section 260B.141, summons
issued, notice given, a hearing held, and the court finds as a further fact that the child is also
delinquent within the meaning and purpose of the laws relating to juvenile courts.
    Subd. 3. Adult traffic offense. Except as provided in subdivision 4, a child who commits an
adult court traffic offense and at the time of the offense was at least 16 years old shall be subject
to the laws and court procedures controlling adult traffic violators and shall not be under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court. When a child is alleged to have committed an adult court traffic
offense and is at least 16 years old at the time of the offense, the peace officer making the charge
shall follow the arrest procedures prescribed in section 169.91 and shall make reasonable effort to
notify the child's parent or guardian of the nature of the charge.
    Subd. 4. Original jurisdiction; juvenile court. The juvenile court has original jurisdiction
over:
(1) all juveniles age 15 and under alleged to have committed any traffic offense; and
(2) 16- and 17-year-olds alleged to have committed any major traffic offense, except that
the adult court has original jurisdiction over:
(i) petty traffic misdemeanors not a part of the same behavioral incident of a misdemeanor
being handled in juvenile court; and
(ii) violations of section 169A.20 (driving while impaired), and any other misdemeanor or
gross misdemeanor level traffic violations committed as part of the same behavioral incident
as a violation of section 169A.20.
    Subd. 5. Major traffic offense procedures. When a child is alleged to have committed a
major traffic offense, the peace officer making the charge shall file a signed copy of the notice
to appear, as provided in section 169.91, with the juvenile court of the county in which the
violation occurred, and the notice to appear has the effect of a petition and gives the juvenile court
jurisdiction. Filing with the court a notice to appear containing the name and address of the child
allegedly committing a major traffic offense and specifying the offense charged, the time and place
of the alleged violation shall have the effect of a petition and give the juvenile court jurisdiction.
Any reputable person having knowledge of a child who commits a major traffic offense may
petition the juvenile court in the manner provided in section 260B.141. Whenever a notice to
appear or petition is filed alleging that a child is a juvenile highway traffic offender or a juvenile
water traffic offender, the court shall summon and notify the persons required to be summoned or
notified as provided in sections 260B.151 and 260B.152. However, it is not necessary to (1) notify
more than one parent, or (2) publish any notice, or (3) personally serve outside the state.
    Subd. 6. Disposition. Before making a disposition of any child found to be a juvenile
major traffic offender or to have violated a misdemeanor- or gross misdemeanor-level traffic
law, the court shall obtain from the department of public safety information of any previous
traffic violation by this juvenile. In the case of a juvenile water traffic offender, the court shall
obtain from the office where the information is now or hereafter may be kept information of any
previous water traffic violation by the juvenile.
    Subd. 7. Transfer of cases. If after a hearing the court finds that the welfare of a juvenile
major traffic offender or a juvenile water traffic offender or the public safety would be better
served under the laws controlling adult traffic violators, the court may transfer the case to any
court of competent jurisdiction presided over by a salaried judge if there is one in the county.
The juvenile court transfers the case by forwarding to the appropriate court the documents in the
court's file together with an order to transfer. The court to which the case is transferred shall
proceed with the case as if the jurisdiction of the juvenile court had never attached.
    Subd. 8. Criminal court dispositions; adult court traffic offenders. (a) A juvenile who
is charged with an adult court traffic offense in district court shall be treated as an adult before
trial, except that the juvenile may be held in secure, pretrial custody only in a secure juvenile
detention facility.
(b) A juvenile who is convicted of an adult court traffic offense in district court shall be
treated as an adult for sentencing purposes, except that the court may order the juvenile placed out
of the home only in a residential treatment facility or in a juvenile correctional facility.
(c) The disposition of an adult court traffic offender remains with the county in which the
adjudication occurred.
    Subd. 9. Juvenile major highway or water traffic offender. If the juvenile court finds that
the child is a juvenile major highway or water traffic offender, it may make any one or more of the
following dispositions of the case:
(a) Reprimand the child and counsel with the child and the parents;
(b) Continue the case for a reasonable period under such conditions governing the child's use
and operation of any motor vehicles or boat as the court may set;
(c) Require the child to attend a driver improvement school if one is available within the
county;
(d) Recommend to the Department of Public Safety suspension of the child's driver's license
as provided in section 171.16;
(e) If the child is found to have committed two moving highway traffic violations or to have
contributed to a highway accident involving death, injury, or physical damage in excess of $100,
the court may recommend to the commissioner of public safety or to the licensing authority of
another state the cancellation of the child's license until the child reaches the age of 18 years,
and the commissioner of public safety is hereby authorized to cancel the license without hearing.
At any time before the termination of the period of cancellation, the court may, for good cause,
recommend to the commissioner of public safety, or to the licensing authority of another state,
that the child's license be returned, and the commissioner of public safety is authorized to return
the license;
(f) Place the child under the supervision of a probation officer in the child's own home under
conditions prescribed by the court including reasonable rules relating to operation and use of
motor vehicles or boats directed to the correction of the child's driving habits;
(g) If the child is found to have violated a state or local law or ordinance and the violation
resulted in damage to the person or property of another, the court may order the child to make
reasonable restitution for the damage;
(h) Require the child to pay a fine of up to $1,000. The court shall order payment of the
fine in accordance with a time payment schedule which shall not impose an undue financial
hardship on the child;
(i) If the court finds that the child committed an offense described in section 169A.20, the
court shall order that a chemical use assessment be conducted and a report submitted to the court
in the manner prescribed in section 169A.70. If the assessment concludes that the child meets the
level of care criteria for placement under rules adopted under section 254A.03, subdivision 3, the
report must recommend a level of care for the child. The court may require that level of care in its
disposition order. In addition, the court may require any child ordered to undergo an assessment to
pay a chemical dependency assessment charge of $75. The court shall forward the assessment
charge to the commissioner of finance to be credited to the general fund. The state shall reimburse
counties for the total cost of the assessment in the manner provided in section 169A.284.
    Subd. 10. Records. The juvenile court records of juvenile highway traffic offenders and
juvenile water traffic offenders shall be kept separate from delinquency matters.
History: 1999 c 139 art 2 s 31; 2000 c 478 art 2 s 3,7; 2004 c 228 art 1 s 72

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