Juvenile in Custody & Detention

Juvenile in Custody & Detention

Your child is taken into custody at 4pm on a Friday. By law, they cannot be held for more than six hours without a hearing. But the hearing doesn't happen until Saturday morning. The six-hour rule was violated before the case even started. This is the gap between what New Jersey juvenile law says and what actually happens - a system that protects children on paper while processing them through facilities that look exactly like jails. The word "custody" is used instead of "arrest" because the law wants to pretend this is different. It isn't. Your child is locked in a building they cannot leave. That's detention, whatever word the statute uses.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to explain how juvenile custody and detention actually works in New Jersey - the six-hour rule that gets violated constantly, the eight alternatives to detention that get "considered" but not used, and the timeline requirements that create pressure points families can leverage if they know they exist. Todd Spodek has represented juveniles in custody throughout New Jersey and understands that the first hours after custody determine whether a child goes home or stays locked up pending trial.

Here's the uncomfortable truth about juvenile detention in New Jersey. Before the state implemented the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, 12,000 youth were admitted to detention facilities every year. After JDAI reduced that number by 83%, the state was celebrated as a national model. Think about what that means. Eighty-three percent of detained youth didn't need to be detained. For years, the system locked up thousands of children unnecessarily - and nobody stopped it until a foundation stepped in.

What "Custody" Actually Means

Heres the paradox that defines the entire system. Under R. 5:21-1, taking a juvenile into custody is legally NOT an arrest. The court rules specifically distinguish custody from arrest because juvenile proceedings are supposed to be rehabilitative, not punitive. But ask any kid who's been placed in the back of a police car, transported to a facility, and locked in a room - it feels exactly like an arrest. The legal distinction is a fiction that makes adults feel better about putting children in cages.

The statute creating custody authority is N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-23. Police can take a juvenile into custody when there's probable cause to believe the juvenile has committed a delinquent act. Same standard as adult arrests. Same procedures. Same handcuffs in many cases. The only difference is the paperwork uses different words. Your child experiences everything an arrested adult experiences, but the system calls it something else.

This matters becuase the legal fiction creates real consequences. Parents hear "custody" and think supervision. Protective custody. Something temporary and gentle. Then they discover there child is locked in a juvenile detention center with other juveniles facing serious charges. The word custody sounds soft. The reality is concrete walls and locked doors.

The system revelation that most families miss is who makes the initial decision. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-34, no juvenile shall be placed in detention without permission of a judge or the court intake service. Read that again. Judge OR court intake service. The intake service isnt a judge. Its not even an attorney in most cases. Its an administrative function that decides wheather your child sleeps at home or in a facility. And court intake is much easier to convince then a judge.

Taking a juvenile into "custody" is legally distinct from arrest - but the experience is identical. Understanding this fiction helps you understand why the system treats children the way it does.

The 6-Hour Rule

Heres the specific number that defines short-term custody. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-32(a), no juvenile taken into short-term custody shall be held for more then six hours. Six hours. Thats the window between custody and either release or a detention hearing. The rule exists to prevent children from languishing in holding facilities while paperwork moves through bureaucratic channels.

The hidden connection that families discover too late is how often this rule gets violated. Six hours sounds like plenty of time. But processing takes time. Transporting the juvenile takes time. Contacting parents takes time. Finding a judge or intake officer takes time - especialy on weekends. By the time everyone who needs to be involved is actually involved, six hours has often passed. The rule exists. The enforcement dosent.

Think about what happens when the six hours expires without resolution. Your child should be released. Instead, the system often treats the six-hour violation as a procedural technicality that dosent change anything. The detention continues. The hearing gets scheduled for the next morning. Nobody faces consequences for holding your child longer then the law allows.

The uncomfortable truth is that six-hour violations are common and consequence-free. Defense attorneys can raise the violation, but courts rarely dismiss cases or release juveniles based on timing alone. The rule creates an expectation the system dosent meet - and families who expect the rule to protect there children find out it dosent work that way.

The 8 Alternatives

Heres the irony that reveals how "consideration" works in practice. Before ordering detention, a judge or court intake officer must consider eight alternatives. The statute lists them specifically:

• Release to parents
• Release on the juveniles promise to appear
• Release with written assurance from parents
• Release to a custodian or agency
• Release with activity restrictions
• Release with home detention program
• Placement in shelter care
• Any other restriction short of detention

Eight alternatives. The law requires considering all of them before detention. But considering isnt using. The court can check a box saying alternatives were considered - and still order detention. Theres no requirement that alternatives actually be tried. Theres no requirement that the court explain why each alternative was rejected. The consideration requirement creates the appearance of thoughtfulness while allowing detention as the default.

The inversion that most families dont realize is the success rate of alternatives. Data from the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative shows that only 5.5% of youth placed in alternative programs were discharged due to a new delinquency charge. Read that number again. Ninety-four and a half percent of juveniles in alternatives completed there programs without reoffending. The alternatives work. Detention is chosen anyway.

Eight alternatives to detention must be "considered" before detention is ordered. Considered dosent mean used. Understanding this distinction matters when fighting for release.

The system defaults to detention becuase detention is easy. The juvenile is secured. The court knows were they are. Risk is eliminated - at least risk to the court. Risk to the juvenile from detention - lost school time, exposure to other offenders, trauma from confinement - dosent factor into the calculation. The eight alternatives require coordination, monitoring, family involvement. Detention just requires a facility with space.

The Detention Hearing Timeline

Heres the cascade of deadlines that creates pressure points throughout the process. If your child isnt released within six hours, a detention hearing must occur by the morning following custody. Including weekends. Including holidays. The system recognizes that holding a child in custody overnight requires immediate judicial review.

But the detention hearing dosent resolve probable cause. Probable cause gets its own hearing - within two court days after the initial detention hearing. So your child can be detained Saturday morning, have probable cause established Monday, and still face weeks of detention awaiting trial. The initial hearing is just the beginning.

The review schedule creates ongoing pressure points. If detention continues after probable cause, a review hearing happens within 14 court days. If detention continues after that, reviews happen every 21 days. These reviews are opportunities to argue for release - but they're also opportunities for the prosecution to argue for continued detention. "Good cause" exceptions allow detention to extend indefinately.

The biggest deadline is the 30-day rule. If a juvenile is detained, the adjudicatory hearing must occur within 30 days. Miss that deadline, and the defense can file a motion demanding a date certain. The prosecution must either proceed or release. This creates leverage - but only if the defense knows to use it and the court enforces it.

The consequence cascade from detention runs beyond the legal timeline. Detention means missing school. Missing school means losing credits. Losing credits jeopardizes graduation. Even if the case gets dismissed, the academic damage is done. Your child beats the charge but still pays the price through disrupted education that nobody restores.

Children 11 and Under

Heres the paradox within the age restrictions. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-34, no juvenile 11 years of age or under shall be placed in detention unless charged with a first-degree crime, second-degree crime, or arson. The age protection recognizes that younger children need different treatment. But the arson exception creates a wierd result.

First-degree and second-degree crimes make sense as exceptions. Murder. Sexual assault. Serious violence. If an 11-year-old commits those offenses, detention might be warranted despite the age. But arson is a third-degree crime in most circumstances. A child under 11 can be detained for arson - destruction of property - when they cant be detained for third-degree assault causing actual injury to a person. The exception prioritizes property over people.

The specific numbers define who faces detention. Under 11 - only first-degree, second-degree, or arson. Ages 11-17 - broader detention authority for serious offenses. The system creates age tiers that determine exposure. A 10-year-old and a 12-year-old charged with the same third-degree assault face completly different detention possibilities based purely on birthday.

This matters becuase families with younger children sometimes assume there child cant be detained. If the charge involves arson - even accidental fires, even minor property damage - detention becomes possible for children as young as 10 or younger. The age protection has a hole that catches families off guard.

The Racial Disparity Reality

Heres the uncomfortable truth that New Jersey's reform success dosent change. Black youth in New Jersey are 26 times more likely to be committed then White youth. Twenty-six times. For the same conduct, the same charges, the same circumstances - Black children face radically different treatment. New Jersey has the third-highest Black-White commitment disparity in the nation.

The paradox is that New Jersey is simultaneously the national model for detention reform and one of the worst states for racial disparity. The Annie E. Casey Foundation designated New Jersey as the only state to achieve model status for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Detention dropped 83%. Youth arrests dropped 88%. The system improved dramatically - and the racial gap remained enormous.

Youth of color account for almost 90% of the reduction in detention populations. This sounds positive - more children of color staying home instead of locked up. But adjusting for demographics, the overrepresentation of youth of color in detention decreased by only 7 percentage points. The reforms helped, but they didnt fix the fundamental disparity.

This isnt ancient history. The 26-times disparity reflects current data. While detention facilities closed - 17 reduced to 7 statewide - the children who remain detained are overwhelmingly youth of color. The system got smaller. It didnt get fairer. And families of color facing the juvenile system need to understand that the statistics are working against there children from the first moment of contact.

What Detention Defense Requires

Fighting detention requires understanding the pressure points the system creates. The six-hour rule. The eight alternatives. The hearing deadlines. The review schedule. Each creates an opportunity to argue for release - but only if the defense knows to raise them.

At Spodek Law Group, we understand that detention defense requires immediate intervention. The initial detention hearing happens by the morning after custody. Thats not enough time for most families to find an attorney, explain the situation, and prepare a strategy. The system is designed to move fast - faster then families can respond without help.

Todd Spodek has represented juveniles in detention hearings throughout New Jersey who assumed the system would recognize there child should be released. It wont - not automaticaly. The default is detention. The alternatives are checkboxes. The racial disparities are real. Fighting that system requires advocacy that starts before the first hearing and continues through every review.

The system revelation that changes outcomes is understanding who decides. Court intake services make many initial decisions. Judges make review decisions. The prosecutor argues for detention. The defense argues for release. Without defense advocacy, theres no one in the room arguing that your child should go home. The system processes your child. It dosent protect your child.

If your child has been taken into custody, the time to get representation is now. Not after the detention hearing. Not after probable cause. Now. The six hours between custody and hearing is when the trajectory gets set. Having an attorney before that first hearing changes what arguments get made and what alternatives get proposed.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. We handle juvenile custody and detention cases throughout New Jersey. The consultation is confidential. The advice is real. And in a system were 83% of detained youth didnt need to be detained while racial disparities persist at 26-to-1 ratios, having representation that understands both the legal requirements and the systemic realities is exactly what seperates outcomes.

The New Jersey juvenile detention system will continue operating wheather you understand it or not. Court intake will continue making decisions. Alternatives will continue being "considered" without being used. The 30-day timeline will continue creating pressure. Your choice is wheather to face that system with representation that knows how detention actualy works - or without.