(a) The court, at the conclusion of the hearing, or thereafter as the circumstances of the case may require, shall find and enter a judgment that the minor is or is not delinquent.
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 47.12.120

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • commissioner: means the commissioner of family and community services. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • court: means the superior court of the state. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • department: means the Department of Family and Community Services. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • juvenile detention facility: means a secure facility for the detention of delinquent minors in the custody of the department under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • juvenile treatment facility: means a secure facility for treatment of minors adjudicated delinquent and committed by a court to the care and custody of the department under Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • minor: as used in this chapter includes a person described in this section. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.022
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. Source:
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • residential child care facility: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • secure residential psychiatric treatment center: has the meaning given "residential psychiatric treatment center" in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • victim: has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. See Alaska Statutes 47.12.990
(b) If the minor is not subject to (j) of this section and the court finds that the minor is delinquent, it shall

(1) order the minor committed to the department for a period of time not to exceed two years or in any event extend past the day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the court may grant in a hearing (A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend beyond the minor’s 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the minor and the public; and (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person consents to it; the department shall place the minor in the juvenile facility that the department considers appropriate and that may include a juvenile treatment facility, juvenile detention facility, or secure residential psychiatric treatment center; the minor may be released from placement or detention and placed on probation on order of the court and may also be released by the department, in its discretion, under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.260;
(2) order the minor placed on probation, to be supervised by the department, and released to the minor’s parents, guardian, or a suitable person; if the court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and conditions of probation; the probation may be for a period of time not to exceed two years and in no event to extend past the day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the court may grant in a hearing

(A) two-year extensions of supervision that do not extend beyond the minor’s 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the minor and the public; and
(B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person consents to it;
(3) order the minor committed to the custody of the department and placed on probation, to be supervised by the department and released to the minor’s parents, guardian, other suitable person, or suitable nondetention setting such as with a relative or in a foster home or residential child care facility, whichever the department considers appropriate to implement the treatment plan of the predisposition report; if the court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and conditions of probation; the department may transfer the minor, in the minor’s best interests, from one of the probationary placement settings listed in this paragraph to another, and the minor, the minor’s parents or guardian, the minor’s foster parent, and the minor’s attorney are entitled to reasonable notice of the transfer; the probation may be for a period of time not to exceed two years and in no event to extend past the day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the court may grant in a hearing

(A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend beyond the minor’s 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the minor and the public; and
(B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person consents to it;
(4) order the minor and the minor’s parent to make suitable restitution in lieu of or in addition to the court’s order under (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection; under this paragraph,

(A) except as provided in (B) of this paragraph, the court may not refuse to make an order of restitution to benefit the victim of the act of the minor that is the basis of the delinquency adjudication; under this subparagraph, the court may require the minor to use the services of a community dispute resolution center that has been recognized by the commissioner under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.450(b) to resolve any dispute between the minor and the victim of the minor’s offense as to the amount of or manner of payment of the restitution;
(B) the court may not order payment of restitution by the parent of a minor who is a runaway or missing minor for an act of the minor that was committed by the minor after the parent has made a report to a law enforcement agency, as authorized by Alaska Stat. § 47.10.141(a), that the minor has run away or is missing; for purposes of this subparagraph, “runaway or missing minor” means a minor who a parent reasonably believes is absent from the minor’s residence for the purpose of evading the parent or who is otherwise missing from the minor’s usual place of abode without the consent of the parent; and
(C) at the request of the department, the Department of Law, the victims’ advocate, or on its own motion, the court shall, at any time, order the minor and the minor’s parent, if applicable, to submit financial information on a form approved by the Alaska Court System to the court, the department, and the Department of Law for the purpose of establishing the amount of restitution or enforcing an order of restitution under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.170; the form must include a warning that submission of incomplete or inaccurate information is punishable as unsworn falsification in the second degree under Alaska Stat. § 11.56.210;
(5) order the minor committed to the department for placement in an adventure-based education program established under Alaska Stat. § 47.21.020 with conditions the court considers appropriate concerning release upon satisfactory completion of the program or commitment under (1) of this subsection if the program is not satisfactorily completed;
(6) in addition to an order under (1) – (5) of this subsection, order the minor to perform community service; for purposes of this paragraph, “community service” includes work

(A) on a project identified in Alaska Stat. § 33.30.901; or
(B) that, on the recommendation of the city council or traditional village council, would benefit persons within the city or village who are elderly or disabled; or
(7) in addition to an order under (1) – (6) of this subsection, order the minor’s parent or guardian to comply with orders made under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.155, including participation in treatment under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.155(b)(1).
(c) If the court finds that the minor is not delinquent, it shall immediately order the minor released from the department’s custody and returned to the minor’s parents, guardian, or custodian, and dismiss the case.
(d) A minor found to be delinquent is a ward of the state while committed to the department or while the department has the power to supervise the minor’s actions. The court shall review an order made under (b) of this section annually and may review the order more frequently to determine if continued placement, probation, or supervision, as it is being provided, is in the best interest of the minor and the public. The department, the minor, and the minor’s parents, guardian, or custodian are entitled, when good cause is shown, to a review on application. If the application is granted, the court shall afford these parties and their counsel and the minor’s foster parent reasonable notice in advance of the review and hold a hearing where these parties and their counsel and the minor’s foster parent shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard. The minor shall be afforded the opportunity to be present at the review.
(e) The department shall pay all court costs incurred in all proceedings in connection with the adjudication of delinquency under this chapter, including hearings that result in the release of the minor.
(f) A minor, the minor’s parents or guardian acting on the minor’s behalf, or the department may appeal a judgment or order, or the stay, modification, setting aside, revocation, or enlargement of a judgment or order issued by the court under this chapter.
(g)[Repealed, Sec. 54 ch 107 SLA 1998.]
(h)[Repealed, Sec. 74 ch 35 SLA 2003.]
(i) When, under (a) of this section, the court enters judgment finding that a minor is delinquent, the court may order the minor temporarily detained pending entry of its dispositional order if the court finds that detention is necessary

(1) to protect the minor or the community; or
(2) to ensure the minor’s appearance at a subsequent court hearing.
(j) If, in a case in which a district attorney has elected to seek imposition of a dual sentence under Alaska Stat. § 47.12.065, the court finds that the minor is delinquent for committing an offense in the circumstances set out in Alaska Stat. § 47.12.065, or if the minor agrees as part of a plea agreement to be subject to dual sentencing, the court shall

(1) enter one or more orders under (b) of this section; and
(2) pronounce a sentence for the offense in accordance with the provisions of Alaska Stat. Chapter 12.55; however, the sentence pronounced under this paragraph must include some period of imprisonment that is not suspended by the court.
(k)[Repealed, Sec. 22 ch 32 SLA 2016.]
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