Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 41. MINORS

CHAPTER 5. YOUTH COURT ACT

Part 2. Youth Court -- Jurisdiction -- Records

Jurisdiction Of Court

41-5-203. Jurisdiction of court. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) and for cases filed in the district court under 41-5-206, the court has exclusive original jurisdiction of all proceedings under the Montana Youth Court Act in which a youth is alleged to be a delinquent youth or a youth in need of intervention or concerning any person under 21 years of age charged with having violated any law of the state or any ordinance of a city or town other than a traffic or fish and game law prior to having become 18 years of age.

(2) Justices', municipal, and city courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the youth court over all alcoholic beverage, tobacco products, and gambling violations alleged to have been committed by a youth.

(3) The court has jurisdiction to:

(a) transfer a youth court case to the district court after notice and hearing;

(b) with respect to extended jurisdiction juvenile cases:

(i) designate a proceeding as an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution;

(ii) conduct a hearing, receive admissions, and impose upon a youth who is adjudicated as an extended jurisdiction juvenile a sentence that may extend beyond the youth's age of majority;

(iii) stay that portion of an extended jurisdiction sentence that is extended beyond a youth's majority, subject to the performance of the juvenile portion of the sentence;

(iv) continue, modify, or revoke the stay after notice and hearing;

(v) after revocation, transfer execution of the stayed sentence to the department;

(vi) transfer supervision of any juvenile sentence if, after notice and hearing, the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the juvenile has violated or failed to perform the juvenile portion of an extended jurisdiction sentence; and

(vii) transfer a juvenile case to district court after notice and hearing; and

(c) impose criminal sanctions on a juvenile as authorized by the Extended Jurisdiction Prosecution Act, Title 41, chapter 5, part 16.

History: En. 10-1206 by Sec. 6, Ch. 329, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 100, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 446, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 10-1206; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 427, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 22, Ch. 626, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 376, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 498, L. 1997; amd. Secs. 15, 76, Ch. 550, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 114, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 576, L. 2001.