Code of Alabama - Title 12: Courts - Section 12-15-213 - Children charged with delinquent acts or alleged to be in need of supervision to be accorded privilege against self-incrimination; admissibility in evidence of extrajudicial statements of children and evidence illegally seized or obtained; double jeopardy

Section 12-15-213 - Children charged with delinquent acts or alleged to be in need of supervision to be accorded privilege against self-incrimination; admissibility in evidence of extrajudicial statements of children and evidence illegally seized or obtained; double jeopardy.

(a) A child charged with a delinquent act or who is alleged to be in need of supervision shall be accorded the rights and privileges afforded by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Alabama of 1901.

(b) An extrajudicial statement which would be constitutionally inadmissible in a criminal proceeding may not be received in evidence over objection. Evidence illegally seized or obtained may not be received in evidence over objection to establish the allegations against the child. An extrajudicial admission or confession made by the child out of court is insufficient to support a finding that the child committed the acts alleged in the petition unless it is corroborated by other evidence.

(c) Criminal proceedings and other juvenile proceedings based upon the offense alleged in the petition or an offense based upon the same conduct are barred where the juvenile court has begun taking evidence or where the juvenile court has accepted from the child a plea of guilty to the petition.

(Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §5-126; §12-15-66; amended and renumbered by Act 2008-277, p. 441, §14.)

Last modified: May 3, 2021