Art. 664 Adjudication by the court

This rule means that when a child's case goes to a hearing to decide whether the claims against them are true, a judge alone makes that decision. There is no jury involved in this process.

This is different from many adult criminal cases, where a jury of citizens can decide guilt or innocence. In juvenile cases, the judge listens to the evidence, hears from witnesses, and then decides the outcome based on the law.

For families going through this process, it means the entire case rests on the judge's judgment. There is no need to prepare for jury selection or worry about convincing a group of jurors. Instead, the focus is on presenting a clear and honest case to the one person who will make the final call, the judge.