The judge of any court in North Carolina to which an application is made for the return of a runaway under the provisions of G.S. 7B-2804 of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles shall hold a hearing thereon to determine whether for the purposes of the Compact the petitioner is entitled to the legal custody of the juvenile, whether or not it appears that the juvenile has in fact run away without consent, whether or not the juvenile is an emancipated minor, and whether or not it is in the best interests of the juvenile to compel the return of the juvenile to the state. The judge of any court in North Carolina, finding that a requisition for the return of a juvenile under the provisions of G.S. 7B-2804 of the Compact is in order, shall upon request fix a reasonable time to be allowed for the purpose of testing the legality of the proceeding. The period of time for holding a juvenile in custody under the provisions of G.S. 7B-2804 of the Compact for the protection and welfare of the juvenile, subject to the order of a court of this State, to enable the juvenile's return to another state party to the Compact pursuant to a requisition for return from a court of that state, shall not exceed 30 days. In applying the provisions of G.S. 7B-2804 of the Compact to secure the return of a runaway from North Carolina, the courts of this State shall construe the word "juvenile" as used in this Article to mean any person who has not reached the person's eighteenth birthday. (1965, c. 925, s. 2; 1971, c. 1231, s. 2; 1977, c. 552; 1979, c. 815, s. 1; 1998-202, s. 6.)
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Last modified: March 23, 2014