CJP Training Series - A Comprehensive Overview of WY Juvenile Court Rules

A Comprehensive Overview of Wyoming Juvenile Court Rules and Relevant Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions

Jill Kucera, J.D., Senior Assistant Attorney General, Wyoming Attorney General’s Office and Elizabeth B. Lance, J.D., Attorney, Wyoming Guardian Ad Litem Program will provide an overview of Wyoming's Juvenile Court Rules and relevant Wyoming Supreme Court decisions. The Rules of Procedure for Juvenile Courts ("Rules") (adopted on Feb. 9, 2007) govern practice and procedure in Wyoming's trial courts in all juvenile court actions: abuse and neglect, delinquency, and CHINS (child in need of supervision) proceedings. These Rules address hearings, discovery and inspection, submittal of reports, right to counsel, pretrial conferences and meeting of parties, stipulations, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) provisions, inadmissibility of certain evidence, and concurrent criminal and juvenile proceedings. The presenters will provide information on all the Rules, with an emphasis on Rule 3: Discovery and Inspection; they will also present information about Wyoming Supreme Court cases that interpret the Rules.  Listeners will learn about best practices and how the Rules are applied in different Wyoming jurisdictions.  At the completion of this program, participants will know: (1) The Ten Rules of Procedure for Juvenile Courts; (2) Wyoming Supreme Court decisions on the Rules and (3) How these Rules relate to practices in difference jurisdictions.