State of Louisiana in the Interest of J.M., 156 So. 3d 1161

J.M., a juvenile, was charged with simple battery and simple criminal damage to property; she answered and denied the petition on Feb 25, 2013.
Under La. Ch. C. art. 877 the State had 90 days from the answer hearing to commence adjudication (deadline: May 26, 2013), later extended to May 28, 2013.
The State sought a continuance on May 28, 2013; the juvenile court denied the continuance. Instead, the State entered a nolle prosequi and immediately refiled the same petition the same day.
The refiled petition generated new answer hearings; defendant did not appear until July 16, 2013 (141 days after the original answer), and moved to dismiss for untimely adjudication.
The juvenile court denied dismissal; the Fourth Circuit reversed and dismissed the petition for failure to comply with Article 877 time limits. The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the Fourth Circuit.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether refiling after a nolle prosequi allows the State additional time to commence adjudication beyond Article 877 deadlines	The State contended the 90‑day period was suspended by the defendant's failures to appear and by the need to refile, so time had not lapsed	J.M. argued that Article 877’s 90‑day limit expired and dismissal of the original petition prevented tolling or restarting the deadline	The Supreme Court held that Article 877’s time limits are mandatory; a nolle prosequi and refiling do not circumvent the good‑cause requirement and do not extend the deadline—petition must be dismissed

State in the Interest of R.D.C., Jr., 632 So.2d 745 (La. 1994) (rejects using Criminal Code maneuvers to circumvent Children’s Code time limits; requires showing of good cause and pre‑deadline extension)
State in the Interest of T.N., 25 So.3d 962 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2009) (affirmed dismissal where State dismissed and refiled instead of obtaining a pre‑deadline good‑cause extension)
State v. Hearin, 409 So.2d 577 (La. 1982) (discusses permissible uses of nolle prosequi in criminal cases)
State v. Richard, 158 So.2d 828 (La. 1963) (addresses interplay between procedure and dismissal/refiling)