State Ex Rel. D. D. H. v. Dostert

Neely, Chief Justice:

In this case we shall endeavor, with some apprehension, to clarify the proper procedures at the dispositional stage of a juvenile proceeding. The facts of these three consolidated cases1 provide an excellent opportunity to explore the nature of the juvenile disposition. Indeed this particular child’s journey into the juvenile justice system constitutes a veritable primer on how a juvenile should not be handled by the courts under either our prior rulings or the applicable sections of Chapter 49 of the W.Va. Code.

On 25 April 1979, a delinquency petition was filed against…