Does anyone know if you can commit a juvenile to TYC on one charge and place him on juvenile probation until 18 on another charge arising out of the same incident? The hoped for effect would be TYC indeterminate commitment and Juvenile Probation until age 18 upon release from TYC.

Katherine McAnally

I doubt that this is possible because of the judicial findings to send a juvenile to TYC:

1. it is in the child's best interest to be placed outside the child's home

2. reasonable efforts were made to prevent or eliminate the need for the child's removal from the home and to make it possible for the child to return to the child's home, and;

3. the child, in the child's home, cannot be provided the quality of care and level of support and supervision that the child needs to meet the condition of probation.

If the court orders probation, even with the idea of future supervision, it would be an immediate order that would run contrary to these findings. I usually rely on the TYC parole office to supervise a juvenile after he or she gets out of TYC. They can maintain jurisdiction for longer. They can revoke his parole, and they have access to additional services, such as the transfer to independent living program. The only exception I can think of would be for a juvenile who has gotten off of TYC parole and commits a misdemeanor, and the recent change in the law prevents sending him or her back to TYC.

You could plea him on the TYC case, then, when he returns from TYC charge, file the other charge, putting him on probation until 18. In my experience, TYC parole has limitations that probation does not.

This sorta seems like dirty pool to me. If all of the community's resources have been exhausted and he/she needs to go to TYC, then that's where he/she needs to go. I think we have to trust TYC to make the appropriate decision on when the child is released and let the chips fall as they may. I'm assuming that this particular kid must be pretty young? And I also sincerely hope that the kid's defense lawyer would demand that both cases be disposed of at once especially considering that they come out of the same transaction.

If your desire is to continue to monitor the juvenile, you could place him outside the home on a suspended commitment to TYC.

In effect, the judge suspends judgment on sending the juvenile to TYC and sends him to placement in lieu of same.

You can continue probation until 18 after placement and the juvenile still has TYC looming over his/her head. If he/she violates while on probation you can file a motion to lift suspension of commitment to TYC.

At that point the only issue for the hearing is whether or not the violations and all the conduct of the juvenile, taken as a whole, indicate a need for TYC.

Unless I misunderstand you, this should achieve your goals with a minimum of headache and in a way that is straight-forward and often agreeable to defense and juvenile on the front end when they feel certain the juvenile has changed.

I haven�t ever asked for a suspended TYC disposition. This looks like it requires making findings to remove the juvenile from his or her home, reasonable efforts, etc., then doing the opposite. If, when a juvenile appears to meet the legal standard to go to TYC, but appears also to have changed enough to have a suspended sentence, I question whether the legal standard has been met. Instead, I would agree not enter a disposition and would agree just hold the disposition open, sometimes with regular compliance hearings.

Are there any cases that have gone up on appeal where a court has kept jurisdiction over a juvenile after his or her 18th birthday and then revoked?

Two things I would add:
Except for a determinate sentence probation - which transfers to adult supervision at age 18 - you can't keep a person on juvenile probation after age 18.
See Sec. 54.04(l):
l) Except as provided by Subsection (q), a court or jury may place a child on probation under Subsection (d)(1) for any period, except that probation may not continue on or after the
child's 18th birthday. Except as provided by Subsection (q), the court may, before the period of probation ends, extend the probation for any period, except that the probation may not extend
to or after the child's 18th birthday.

Second - I would think about the long term.
Remember an ajdudication for a felony offense that results in a commitment to TYC can be used to enhance an adult charge. (See Penal code Sec. 12.42(f))