How long for a juvenile?

Impossible to say what will happen with the case there are too many factors that go into the determination. You should talk to his or her attorney.


Attorney Jason Chan
77 Franklin Street, FL3
Boston, MA 02110
617-556-8220
website: www.attorneychan.com
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disclaimer: Please be aware that this is for informational purposes only.

Two scenarios raised by your question: pretrial detention and post-conviction sentencing.

In terms of pretrial detention at DYS, i.e. the juvenile has just been charged with the stabbing and has not been convicted or plead delinquent to the crime, then the juvenile will be held at DYS until he posts bail. If he was held without bail, he will be held at DYS until the case is resolved, either by way of trial or plea. If the juvenile's bail from an earlier case was revoked because he was charged with the stabbing, then he will be held without bail on the old case for up to 60 days, and held on the new case until he posts bail.

As for post-conviction sentences, if the juvenile is not charged as a "youthful offender" and the matter remains a delinquency case, the maximum punishment that the juvenile can generally receive is a commitment to DYS until 18. That does not mean that he remains locked in a DYS facility until he turns 18, it merely means that after he completes time at DYS, he will be "paroled" if you will back to the community under the watch of a DYS caseworker.

If the juvenile is charged as a youthful offender, he may receive the same sentence as an adult could receive to be served in an adult prison, an extended commitment to DYS until age 21, or a combination of the two. Hope this answers your question.

The juvenile is facing very serious charges and stands a good chance of being charged as a youthful offender given the severity of the crime. Feel free to call me at 617-538-1127 if you have any further questions.


DISCLAIMER: The answer provided to this question is intended for informational purposes only. This answer doe not constitute legal advise and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For personalized legal advice, please contact an attorney in your area.