Section 7 Juvenile OfficerandProsecutingAttorney’sOffice

• Library: Juvenile Law 2011

The courts have made it clear that it is not the function of the juvenile officer to perform the role traditionally associated with prosecuting attorneys. “The juvenile officer is not a prosecutor and if he functions as such he is striking at the very foundation of the juvenile justice system.” In re M___ C___, 504 S.W.2d 641, 647 (Mo. App. E.D. 1974). In In re F___ C___, 484 S.W.2d 21 (Mo. App. W.D. 1972), the court of appeals found that a juvenile court did
not have jurisdiction to commit a child to the state training school because the court had acted on a...