Juveniles have right to evidentiary probable cause hearing

In a published decision of the Kansas Court of Appeals released on June 10, 2011 Maughan & Maughan LC Lawyer, Kate Zigtema, succeeded in getting the Kansas Court of Appeals to approve the practice of allowing juveniles accused of criminal conduct to present evidence at a hearing to determne whether probable cause exists to support the charges.

In the case captioned In Re: H.N. (http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-Opinions/opinions/CtApp/2011/20110610/105017.pdf ) the Court affirmed the District Court's ruling denying the juvenile a preliminary hearing similar to those required by the adult criminal code. However, the court went on to hold that the procedure of reviewing the probable cause affidavit and giving the juvenile the opportunity to present evidence at a hearing to determine probable cause meets the requirements of providing a "...fair and reliable determination of probable cause." (Quoting from the United States Supreme Court case Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 95 S. Ct. 854 (1975)).

The decision further bolsters the rights of Juveniles in Kansas in the wake of the Kansas Supreme Court case In Re: L.M. 286 Kan. 460, 186 P. 3d 164 (2008) in which the court recognized that juveniles have a constitutional right to a trial by jury.