Sufficiency of petition
§ 311.2. Sufficiency of petition. A petition, or a count thereof, is sufficient on its face when:
1. it substantially conforms to the requirements prescribed in section 311.1; and
2. the allegations of the factual part of the petition, together with those of any supporting depositions which may accompany it, provide reasonable cause to believe that the respondent committed the crime or crimes charged; and
3. non-hearsay allegations of the factual part of the petition or of any supporting depositions establish, if true, every element of each crime charged and the respondent's commission thereof.
A petition is facially sufficient when it (1) conforms to § 311.1, (2) shows reasonable cause to believe the child committed the crime, and (3) has non-hearsay allegations that, if true, establish every element. ★ Element 3 (non-hearsay establishing every element) is the classic jurisdictional-sufficiency trap.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 5 — The JG-22 Family Court Act and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.