Juvenile Court Rules  Rule 2. Definition of terms

The terms below shall have the following definitions:

“Application for complaint” means the application filed by a complainant alleging that the child has committed a criminal offense and is therefore a delinquent child.

“By-law” means a rule or regulation created and enforced by a local authority such as town or city that is applicable only within that town or city.

“Civil infraction” means any violation of any statute, ordinance, by-law, or regulation except for civil motor vehicle infractions as defined by G.L. c. 90C, § 1, para. 7(c) for which the maximum penalty provided is a fine only.

“Clerk’s hearing” means the hearing held pursuant to G.L. c 218, § 35A, where the clerk-magistrate is responsible for deciding whether probable cause exists for the issuance of the delinquency complaint. This hearing is also known as a “show cause” hearing or “probable cause” hearing.

“Delinquent child” means a child between 12 and 18 years of age who commits any offense against a law of the commonwealth; provided, however, that such offense shall not include a civil infraction, a violation of any municipal ordinance or town by-law or a first offense of a misdemeanor for which the punishment is a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months or both such fine and imprisonment.

“Felony” means an offense for which the punishment may be imprisonment in a state prison.

“First offense” means the first time a child is alleged to have committed a single minor misdemeanor or the first time a child is alleged to have committed multiple minor misdemeanors stemming from one single incident.

“Major misdemeanor” means an offense for which the punishment is a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for greater than 6 months or both such fine and imprisonment.

“Minor misdemeanor” means an offense for which the punishment is a fine, imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months or both such fine and imprisonment.

“Ordinance” means the same as by-law. See G.L. c. 4, § 7.

“Record” means when a child been arraigned for a criminal offense in Juvenile Court resulting in an entry on their criminal activity record information (CARI) or when a search of the court’s statewide docketing system results in either one or more criminal court appearances for the child or a designation that a complaint has been dismissed for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 3 of these Rules.

“Wallace W. hearing” means the hearing held on a delinquency complaint where the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child committed a prior offense.