Section 408. Ruling on Offenses

A. Entered finding. Within seven days of hearing the evidence on the petition or accepting an admission under Rule 407, the court shall enter a finding by specifying which, if any, offenses, including grading and counts, alleged in the petition were committed by the juvenile.

B. Did not commit acts.

1) If the court finds the juvenile committed none of the alleged delinquent acts, the court shall dismiss the petition and release the juvenile, if detained, unless there are other grounds for the juvenile’s detention.

2) The court shall order, sua sponte, the expungement of the record and destruction of fingerprints and photographs related to the dismissed petition pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a)(1), 42 Pa.C.S. § 6308, and Rule 170(A).

3) Absent cause shown, the court shall expunge or destroy the records, fingerprints, and photographs.

C. Committed act. After an adjudicatory hearing, if the court finds that the juvenile committed any delinquent act, the court shall proceed as provided in Rule 409 or enter a consent decree pursuant to Rule 370.

Comment

Under paragraph (A), for any offense the court finds that the juvenile committed, the court is to specify the grading and count(s). See 42 Pa.C.S. § 6341(b). It is noted that some offenses have no specific grading, i.e., ungraded felony or misdemeanor of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, 35 P. S. § 780-101 et seq., or the ungraded delinquent act of failure to comply with a sentence for a summary offense, 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302 (definition of ‘‘delinquent act’’).

Pursuant to paragraph (B), if the court finds that the juvenile committed none of the alleged delinquent acts, the court, sua sponte, is to expunge or destroy the records, fingerprints, and photographs pursuant to Rule 170(A) and 18 Pa.C.S. § 9123(a)(1). Absent cause shown, the court is to expunge the records pursuant to Rule 172.

If the court does find that the juvenile committed at least one of the offenses petitioned, there is no expungement or destruction of records, fingerprints, or photographs.

In its order, the court is to specify the case reference number or other identifying number so the order only applies to the specified case. See Comment to Rule 170 for further definition of a reference number.

Paragraph (C) requires that there is to be an adjudicatory hearing before proceeding pursuant to Rule 409. This rule is not meant to preclude the entry of a consent decree after a finding on an offense pursuant to paragraph (C). If a consent decree is ordered, the court does not proceed under Rule 409.

If the court finds that the juvenile committed none of the alleged delinquent acts and dismisses the petition, the victim, if not present, shall be notified of the final outcome of the proceeding. See Victim’s Bill of Rights, 18 P. S. § 11.201 et seq.

Official Note

Rule 408 adopted April 1, 2005, effective October 1, 2005. Amended December 24, 2009, effective immediately. Amended May 26, 2011, effective July 1, 2011. Amended July 28, 2014, effective September 29, 2014.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the provisions of Rule 408 published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 2214 (April 16, 2005).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 408 published with the Court’s Order at 40 Pa.B. 222 (January 9, 2010).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 408 published with the Court’s Order at 41 Pa.B. 3180 (June 25, 2011).

Final Report explaining the amendments to Rule 408 published with Court’s Order at 44 Pa.B. 5447 (August 16, 2014).

The provisions of this Rule 408 amended December 24, 2009, effective immediately, 40 Pa.B. 222; amended May 26, 2011, effective July 1, 2011, 41 Pa.B. 3180; amended July 28, 2014, effective September 29, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 5447. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (360301) to (360302).