Lewis Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2018 Murder of Jessie Sumlar
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile Justice
When a person younger than 18 commits a crime, the case is generally handled in the juvenile justice system.
The stages of the juvenile justice system differ from the adult system. To learn more about Florida’s juvenile justice system process, please download the free Family Guide to Navigating Juvenile Court.
Some of the most serious offenses are reviewed by a team of assistant state attorneys to determine whether to "direct file" the case to adult court. In making this decision, prosecutors will consider the age of the child at the time the crime was committed, the seriousness of the crime, and any previous criminal history of the child.
Juvenile Diversion Programs
In 2021, the oversight of juvenile diversion in Duval County was migrated from the State Attorney’s Office to the Kids Hope Alliance — a result of the final recommendations made to the State Attorney by the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC) in 2019.
Juvenile diversion remains within the State Attorney’s Office for Clay and Nassau counties.
Traditionally, prevention seeks out certain identified factors that research has determined can potentially lead to delinquency: childhood abuse, truancy, instability in the home, and educational underachievement.
Intervention strategies are initiated for delinquent youth identified as having a greater risk of reoffending. These youth have entered the juvenile justice system by way of arrest or law enforcement referral, and they are referred to a program designed to educate, discipline, and prevent further criminal involvement.
Juvenile Diversion Program Payments
NOW ACCEPTING PAYMENTS ONLINE
IMPORTANT: THE ONLY PAYMENTS ACCEPTED WITH THE FORM BELOW ARE THE $100.00 YOUTH DIVERSION PROGRAM FEE. ANY OTHER AMOUNTS WILL NOT BE PROPERLY ALLOCATED. YOU MUST RECEIVE AUTHORIZATION FROM THE DIVERSION PROGRAM TO MAKE PAYMENTS ONLINE PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR PAYMENT. SUBMITTING PAYMENTS ONLINE DOES NOT MEAN YOU DO NOT HAVE TO APPEAR AT SCHEDULED PROGRAM APPOINTMENTS.
Payments MUST be accompanied with the Case Number AND Defendant’s Name in order for the Diversion office to apply a payment to the appropriate case. Failure to provide the necessary information could cause a delay in applying your payment.
Convenience Fee
For your convenience, we are accepting payment by credit card. Each transaction will be charged a $2.00 convenience fee. If you do not wish to incur this fee, please choose one of the alternate payment methods available to you.
Refund Policy
Refunds will only be given in the event of erroneous payment or overpayment.
Information Required
The application will first ask for information about you and the credit card that you will use to pay your invoice. The purpose of this information is to validate the credit card payment. For security purposes, the State Attorney’s Office does not retain your credit card information, and for that reason, you will be required to re-enter credit card information for each payment you make.
Security
The State Attorney’s Office website does not require a secure connection. However, a secure connection is provided by the online payment link. This security is provided by Payeezy.
Juvenile Civil Citations
In May 2017, law enforcement from every agency in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, alongside community stakeholders, signed a historic agreement to expand the use of juvenile civil citations. An arrest alternative, juvenile civil citations promote quicker accountability and intervention opportunities to youth who commit various misdemeanors and municipal offenses.
Law enforcement issues a citation to a young person to enter the Teen Court Program, where they receive sanctions from their peers or attend a Neighborhood Accountability Board. Once the offending youth complete the program, they will not have an arrest record for the offense.
The increase in civil citation use allows law enforcement to allocate resources to more serious crimes, saves taxpayers dollars, and reduces recidivism of young offenders. Since 2017, more than 2,500 juvenile civil citations have been issued, which has saved taxpayers nearly $13 million.
Read about the financial and safety benefits these juvenile civil citations have provided the Northeast Florida community here.