We have been challenged on some 54.02(d), Juvenile Justice Code issues and our judge would like to know how other counties handle the following:

1. Who files a Motion to obtain the complete diagnostic study and social evaluation required by 54.02(d), the prosecutor, defense, or is it done on the judge's own motion ?

2. Is there a hearing on the motion?

3. If you don?t do a hearing, when is defense given notice of the motion/order?

4. Who determines what exactly is included in the ?social evaluation? (such as school records, grades, prior adjudications, prior psychologicals, family circumstances, etc) ?

5. Who performs the social evaluation?

6. Does the prosecutor receive these reports or just the court and defense?

7. Have you ever had a HIPAA challenge from defense as to release of this information?

I've done juvi work in several counties; Jefferson, Ft. Bend, Bastrop, Gregg and Williamson and from my experience its farily standard. Here are my short answers, but feel free to email me for further details.

1) State or Judge and its not always a written motion
2) Not automatically, the defense can request one if needed
3) Notice that its been requested should be in your motion for waiver of jurisdiction
4) Most of the probation departments I have worked with have someone on contract with whom they have worked before or with whom they have worked out those details. Of course, the Judge/Juvenile Board controls probation and the contracts so I would assume that what the
Judge(s) wanted or considered complete would have been taken into consideration.
5)The probation officer
6)The original to the Court and then I've seen some POs give a copy to the prosecution and the prosecutor is excepted to give it to the defense within the time contraints and in other counties its given to both the prosectution and defense at the same time, again with an eye to your time limits. I've never heard of a county that doesn't give a copy to the prosecution.
7)Release of what info in particular ? The psych ? And release to whom ?