You asked whether a child under age 16 who commits an infraction is referred to Juvenile Court or to the Centralized Infractions Bureau, which allows accused people to pay their fine by mail. We are not authorized to give legal opinions and this report should not be considered one.

SUMMARY

The law gives Juvenile Court jurisdiction over children under age 16 who violate any law, including an infraction. Based on information provided by the chief administrative judge of the Juvenile Division of Superior Court, two juvenile prosecutors, a municipal police office who specializes in juvenile matters, and the executive director of an agency that trains municipal police in proper police procedure, the practice is for the police officer to issue a juvenile summons to the child's parents and guardian to appear in Juvenile Court with the child.

According to these experts, the Centralized Infractions Bureau, which the law established to handle infractions and certain other minor violations of the law, does not apply to children under age 16 though it specifically refers to minors. The experts agreed that in practice, the reference to minors in the Centralized Infractions Bureau law only refers to 16- and 17-year olds and not to children under age 16, who the law requires to be referred to Juvenile Court.

INFRACTION

An infraction is a breach of state law, regulation, or municipal ordinance that the legislature designates as such. An appearance in court is not required unless the accused contests the charge. The accused can pay his fine by mail to the Centralized Infractions Bureau. An infraction is neither a crime nor an offense as these terms are defined in the state's criminal code. There is no right to a jury trial for an infraction. The maximum fine for an infraction is $ 90. The judges of the Superior Court have established a schedule of fines for infractions and for certain violations. Unless expressly deemed an infraction, an offense for which the only sentence authorized is a fine, is called a violation (CGS § 52-164n).

INFRACTION BY A CHILD UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE

A child under age 16 who commits an infraction is engaging in a delinquent act. By law, children who engage in delinquent acts must be referred to a subdivision of the Superior Court specially designed to deal with delinquent children (CGS 46b-120 et seq. ). This subdivision is commonly referred to as Juvenile Court.

This court has special provisions to protect a child's reputation. For example, Juvenile Court proceedings, unlike other court proceedings, are not open to the public. Moreover, Juvenile Court records are confidential and thus unavailable to future employers or other members of the public.

According to Bill Knapp of the Police Officers Standards and Training Council, an organization that trains municipal police officers concerning proper police practices, a police officer who apprehends a child under age 16 for committing an infraction, issues a juvenile summons to the child's parents, guardians, or other person who has control of the child. We have enclosed a copy of the juvenile summons that police officers use. As you can see, it specifies the infraction or other law the child allegedly violated and specifies the court location and dates the child must appear.

CENTRALIZED INFRACTIONS BUREAU

There may be some confusion about this issue because state law has established a Centralized Infractions Bureau of the Superior Court to handle payments or not guilty pleas for infractions and certain violations (CGS § 51-164m et seq. ) The law allows people accused of committing an infraction or such violations to pay the fine and any additional fees or costs by mail and avoid a court appearance. If the accused elects to plead not guilty, he may send the not guilty plea to the Centralized Infractions Bureau, which sends the plea and request for a trial to the clerk of the court where the trial will occur. The clerk, in turn, notifies the accused of the date and time to appear in court to contest the charge (CGS § 51-164n(d)).

A police officer initiates this procedure by issuing a complaint ticket that informs the accused of his right to pay the fine by mail or to plead not guilty and contest the charge in court. We have included a copy of the complaint form police use.

This law specifies that the Centralized Infractions Bureau procedures apply to the alleged commission of an infraction by a minor. In such a case, it requires the minor's parent or guardian to sign the form indicating that either the minor will not contest the charge and will pay by mail or will plead not guilty and appear in court.

But the Centralized Infractions Bureau law does not contain a definition of "minor" for it specific purposes. The General Statutes defines "minor" as a person under 18 years "except as otherwise provided by statute" (CGS § 1-1d). No court decision has addressed whether this definition applies to the Centralized Infractions Bureau.

We contacted the following individuals to try to determine how police, prosecutors, and judges handle the issue:

1. Lieutenant David Gerzais, Youth Bureau, Middletown Police Department;

2. Michael Melocowski, prosecutor for the Juvenile Court in Middletown;

3. Judge Michael Mack, Chief Administrative Judge for Superior Court's Juvenile Division;

4. Bill Knapp, executive director of the Police Officers Standards and Training Council; and

5. Joan Saglio, prosecutor for Juvenile Court in New Britain.

All of them indicated that a child under age 16 who commits an infraction belongs in Juvenile Court and the appropriate way to do this is for the police officer to issue a juvenile summons to the child's parent or guardian. They all also indicated that although the Infractions Bureau law refers to minors, the police, courts, and prosecutors interpret it to apply only to 16 and 17 year olds who do not come within Juvenile Court's jurisdiction.

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