Juvenile Admonitions By The Court

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IN THE MATTER OF § § § IN THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1 OF FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS SITTING AS A JUVENILE COURT JUVENILE ADMONITIONS BY THE COURT Now comes _____________, the above referenced child, _____________ attorney for the child, and the parent(s), _____________, for the child and acknowledges to the court that they received and fully understand the hereinafter admonishments and that each fully and completely understand the consequences of same, to-wit: RIGHT TO APPEAL Section 54.034, Texas Family Code provides as follows: Before the court may accept a child's plea or stipulation of evidence in a proceeding held under this title, the court shall inform the child that if the court accepts the plea or stipulation and the court makes a disposition in accordance with the agreement between the state and the child regarding the disposition of the case, the child may not appeal an order of the court entered under Section 54.03, 54.04, or 54.05 unless: (1) (2) the court gives the child permission to appeal; or the appeal is based on a matter raised by written motion filed before the proceeding in which the child entered the plea or agreed to the stipulation of evidence. RECORDS OF ADJUDICATION MAY BE USED AGAINST THE CHILD AT FUTURE SENTENCING HEARINGS, EVEN WHEN THE CHILD BECOMES AN ADULT Template: A4 American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com The adjudication of delinquency based on a violation of a felony grade penal law will result in the child having a record, possibly for the remainder of the child's life, a record which may be admissible against the child at a future sentencing hearing, even when the child becomes an adult. Article 37.07(a), Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides in part as follows: ...evidence may be offered by the state and the defendant of any adjudication of delinquency based on a violation by the defendant of a penal law of the grade of: (1) a felony; or (2) a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail. RECORDS OF ADJUDICATION MAY BE USED AGAINST THE CHILD, EVEN WHEN THE CHILD BECOMES AN ADULT, AS A REPEAT OFFENDER AND HABITUAL FELONY OFFENDER Section 51.13(d), Texas Family Code provides that adjudication of delinquency under Section 54.03, Texas Family Code that a child engaged in conduct that constitutes a felony offense resulting in commitment to the Texas Youth Commission under Section 54.04(d)(2),(d)(3),(m), or 54.05(f), Texas Family Code, is a final felony conviction only for the purpose of Sections 10.42(a) - (c) and (e), Penal Code which provides as follows: (a) (1) If it is shown on the trial of a state jail felony punishable under Section 10.35(a) that the defendant has previously been finally convicted of two state jail felonies, on conviction the defendant shall be punished for a third-degree felony. (2) If it is shown on the trial of a state jail felony punishable under Section 10.35(a) that the defendant has previously been finally convicted of two felonies, and the second previous felony conviction is for an offense that occurred subsequent to the first previous conviction having become final, on conviction the defendant shall be punished for a second-degree felony. (3) If it is shown on the trial of a state jail felony punishable under Section 10.35(c) or on the trial of a third-degree felony Template: A4 American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com that the defendant has been once before convicted he shall be punished for a second-degree felony. (b) If it is shown on trial of a second-degree felony that the defendant has been once before convicted of a felony, on conviction he shall be punished for a first-degree felony. (c) If it is shown on the trial of a first-degree felony that the defendant has been once before convicted of a felony, on conviction he shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for life, or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than 15 years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000. (d) A previous conviction for a state jail felony punished under Section 10.35(a) may not be used for enhancement purposes under Sub-section (b), (c), or (d). HABITUAL FELONY CONDUCT Section 51.031, Texas Family Code provides what constitutes Habitual Felony Conduct by a juvenile: Habitual felony conduct is conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony, other than a state jail felony, if (1) the child who engaged in the conduct has at least two previous adjudications as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony; and (2) the second previous adjudication is for conduct that occurred after the date the first previous adjudication became final. HABITUAL OFFENDERS Section 53.045, Texas Family Code provides that any future felony charges brought against a child as a juvenile could cause the child to be tried on these charges for Habitual Felony Conduct under the Texas Determinate Sentencing laws and subject the child to be sentenced on these future charges up to 40 years in a combined sentence to the Texas Youth Template: A4 American LegalNet, Inc. www.USCourtForms.com Commission and the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a habitual offender. Section 53.045(a), Texas Family Code provides in part as follows: Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, the prosecuting attorney may refer the petition to the grand jury of the county in which the court in which the petition is filed presides if the petition alleges that the child engaged in delinquent conduct that constitutes habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031.... REGISTRATION AS A SEXUAL OFFENDER If the child is adjudicated for committing a sexual offense, the child will be required to register with the local law enforcement agency where the child resides for more than seven days as a sexual offender for ten years after the child exit the juvenile justice system. (See Article 6252-13 c.1, Tex. Rev.Civ.Stat.). LOSS OF TEXAS DRIVER'S LICENSE If the child is adjudicated for committing an alcohol or drug offense, the child will lose his/her Texas Driver's License or his/her right to obtain one, until the child's 19th birthday. (See Section 54.042, Texas Family Code). SEALING OF RECORDS As provided in Section 58.003, Texas Family Code, the child in this proceeding may be eligible in the future to have his or her juvenile record sealed. To be eligible,