Hi XXXXXXXXXXX,
If this is a first offense, meaning no prior record of any kind, then yes, the person would be prosecuted as a juvenile. The First Offenders Act was set up to restrict the imprisonment of first time offenders. This is sometimes referred to as youthful offender status. To have this status, the person will plead quilty only to being a youthful offender. The record will then be sealed to give the youth another chance. This status is available for anyone under 21 who has never had a prior offense. It may be used for a felony as long as that felony is not murder or some heinous crime like that.
Youthful Offender status is granted at sentencing in the interest of justice and is meant to relieve the eligible youth from having a criminal record. The records are automatically sealed upon a youthful offender adjudication. All official records and papers on file with court or police agency are sealed as well.
Let me know if this is what you were referring to. If so, I am glad I have answered your question. Please accept so that I may go on to help others. If I have somehow misunderstood your question, please let me know, I will be glad to re-answer correctly.
I hope this helps!
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Attorney at Law, JD
Over 8 years of legal experience /family law, general practice, and criminal defense.
It depends on what they listed on the court record. You need to find out if youthful offender was already used in this case or what exactly happened. I would still request youthful offender no matter what. There is a chance that the judge might grant it given the age of the person charged. Given that both are related to drugs, the judge, even if he didn't grant youthful offender based on previous stuff, might set the person up for some kind of drug counseling instead of any jail time. This could be requested as well. Court's like to feel that they are helping someone get over something.
Like I said, it all depends on how they listed the posession at 14. If there was no court appearance, then there may not have actually been any charges, more like a slap on the wrist. If this is the case, he may be able to still use youthful offender.
An attorney in your state would be able to look at how the previous posession was listed and give you a better answer on whether youthful offender can still be used even though this is technically a "second offense."
I hope this helps! Thank you so much for the bonus by the way! It is so nice to deal with someone who understands the time put into answering these questions. It was much appreciated. If I can ever help you again, let me know.