SB223 Alabama 2014 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jerry L. Fielding

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2014

Title

Children, endangering the welfare, delinquent child and dependent child for purposes of conviction, technical citation corrected, Secs. 12-15-102, 13A-13-6 am'd.

Description

Under existing law, in 2008, the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act provided that a juvenile court must adjudicate a child as delinquent or dependent in a civil proceeding.

Under existing law, a parent or guardian who fails to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of a child in order to prevent the child from becoming delinquent or dependent commits the crime of endangering the welfare of a child; however, the juvenile court must adjudicate the child delinquent or dependent in a civil proceeding before a criminal conviction may occur.

This bill would clarify the meaning of dependent child for purposes of juvenile proceedings by updating an internal citation.

This bill would remove the requirement that a child be adjudicated delinquent or dependent in a civil proceeding before a person may be convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, and provide that a delinquent child and dependent child for purposes of the crime of endangering the welfare of a child is defined using the same criteria that a juvenile court uses to make the determination in a civil proceeding.

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Subjects

Children