Criminal conduct can start at a tender age. However, since a person isn’t considered physically and mentally developed until they turn 18 years old, California State has a separate criminal justice system devoted to punishing and rehabilitating juvenile offenders— the juvenile justice system. It is just as bad for a child to undergo the juvenile justice system as an adult to go through the criminal justice system. Thus, when your child is accused of being a delinquent, you need to hire an expert lawyer to fight for them, and if possible, prevent the prosecutor from filing formal charges in juvenile court.

At California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, our juvenile criminal defense lawyers have several years of expertise and experience in defending children charged with crimes. Serving juveniles facing charges in Fresno County, our juvenile attorneys are conversant with the procedures and judges in each adult criminal and juvenile court. We work aggressively and believe in an immediate pre-filing intervention so your child doesn’t have to be subjected to juvenile court proceedings. If the prosecutor has already filed a petition, we’ll also work aggressively to secure their release at the detention hearing. Contact us today to receive expert legal representation and advice about your child’s case.

Defining Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to the act of engaging in illegal conduct as a child or person younger than the statutory age of majority. The statutory age of adults in California is eighteen years. Therefore, this means that persons below eighteen years suspected of committing particular crimes are prosecuted as child offenders in juvenile court instead of adult criminal court. However, there are cases where children can be prosecuted in adult criminal court.

Classifications of Juvenile Offenses

A child can be accused of three kinds of juvenile crimes— status crimes, delinquency crimes, and a juvenile prosecuted as a grownup.

Status Offenses

A status offense is a noncriminal act that’s considered an offense only if a minor commits it. It could be an insignificant act like truancy, curfew violation, running away from home, or a more serious deed that’s specifically unlawful by virtue of the individual’s status as a child.

For instance, it’s generally unlawful for a child in California to possess alcoholic drinks or drive with a .01% BAC (blood alcohol concentration) until they turn 21 years old.

Juvenile Delinquency Crimes

Juvenile delinquency offenses are any acts that would be considered crimes irrespective of the perpetrator’s age. For instance, if a child commits vandalism, the offense can be prosecuted as a delinquency crime.

Per California WIC (Welfare and Institution Code) 602, the juvenile delinquency courts have jurisdiction over criminal offenses supposedly committed by children below 18 years at the time of the offense. This is to say that if a child commits an offense and the crime isn’t discovered or prosecuted until they are twenty years old, the child could still be prosecuted in juvenile court.

Juveniles Tried as Adults

We mentioned that there are cases where children can be prosecuted as adults in adult criminal court. Child offenders sixteen years and above accused of any of the thirty serious or violent crimes listed under 707(b) may be prosecuted as adults in adult criminal court. These criminal offenses include:

  • Murder.
  • Attempted murder.
  • Arson resulting in significant bodily harm/arson of a lived-in structure.
  • Robbery.
  • Sodomy by violence, force, or threats of significant bodily injury.
  • Rape with violence, force, or threats of significant physical injury.
  • Lewd/lascivious acts with a minor under fourteen years with violence, force, or threats of significant bodily harm.
  • Forcible sexual penetration.
  • Oral copulation by violence, force, or threats of significant physical injury.
  • Kidnapping for robbery.
  • Kidnapping for ransom.
  • Kidnapping causing bodily harm.
  • Assault by force that’s likely to cause significant bodily injury.
  • Assault using a firearm/destructive device.
  • Discharging a gun in a lived-in/occupied building.
  • Felony dissuading/bribing a witness.
  • Escape by violence or force from a juvenile hall, forestry camp, or ranch, if significant bodily harm is deliberately inflicted on the facility employee.
  • Aggravated mayhem.
  • Torture.
  • Kidnapping for sexual assault purposes.
  • Carjacking.
  • Kidnapping during carjacking.
  • Drive-by-shooting.
  • Voluntary manslaughter.
  • Exploding any destructive device intending to commit a murder.

But before a child offender is tried as a grownup, the juvenile court judge has to hold a transfer/fitness hearing to determine whether they are fit to stand trial in adult court. The judge’s decision turns on whether the juvenile system’s care, training, and treatment programs would effectively rehabilitate the child and whether the judge believes these programs would reasonably prevent the child from any future criminal conduct. When deciding whether a child is fit to stand trial in adult court, the judge considers several factors, including:

  • The child’s prior delinquent conduct.
  • The circumstances and severity of the crime the juvenile committed.
  • The success of prior attempts to rehabilitate the child.
  • The child’s degree of criminal sophistication.
  • Whether rehabilitation can be achieved before the expiration of the juvenile court’s jurisdiction.

If the judge finds that the child has to be prosecuted as a grownup, their case will be transferred to the adult criminal court system. And if they’re found guilty, the minor will be punished similarly as a grownup would if they had committed the same offense. Juveniles below sixteen years can’t be prosecuted in adult criminal court regardless of their crimes.

Crimes that Will Automatically Lead To Your Child Being Prosecuted as a Grownup

WIC 602(b) defines crimes that can automatically result in a child being tried as an adult. Here, there won’t be a need for a fitness hearing.  These crimes include capital murder if the child personally committed the act. Also, specific sex offenses can trigger automatic prosecution of a child as an adult if the minor personally committed the act. These crimes are:

  • Rape with violence, force, or threats of significant bodily injury.
  • Spousal rape with violence, force, or threats of significant physical injury.
  • Gang rape.
  • Forcible sexual penetration.
  • Lewd/lascivious acts with a minor under fourteen years with violence, force, or threats of significant bodily harm.
  • Oral copulation or sodomy by violence, force, or threats of significant bodily injury.

What Happens When a Child Is Placed Under Arrest?

When the police arrest your child, there are several steps they can take. They can:

  • Warn the child then allow them to go home if the supposed criminal act isn’t serious.
  • Give the child a citation and have them promise in writing to go to the probation office later, then allow them to go home in the meantime.
  • Take the minor to the juvenile hall until their case is determined. This is known as detention. The minor can make a minimum of two calls within an hour of arrest — one call to the parent, relative, guardian, or boss, and the other to an attorney.

If the arresting officer wants to interrogate the child, they must read them their Miranda rights. Children fifteen years or younger should be permitted to speak to an attorney before talking to the arresting officer or waive their Miranda rights. Your minor is entitled to a prepared and effective attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney for your young one, one will be appointed for them.

You also have rights as a parent. The police officers have to inform you immediately they have your child detained. They must notify you where they’ve taken the child and what legal rights they have. However, you probably won’t have to hire your own attorney.

If your child is ordered to visit the probation office, the probation officer may do one of these four things:

  • Warn the minor, then allow them to go home.
  • Allow the child to enroll in a voluntary program rather than go to court. The program could be, among others, counseling, special classes, or community service. If the child completes the program they’ve enrolled in; their case won’t be taken to juvenile court. You might need to sign a contract saying what the minor must do. The contract may last six months.
  • Send the minor back home, then take their case to the DA. The DA then decides whether or not to bring a petition. A petition simply means a paper that shows the child must undergo the juvenile delinquency court process.
  • Keep the minor detained and take their case to the DA. The DA will then have to bring a petition within 48 hours of the arrest. A detention hearing will then be held on the following day of the court operations. Juvenile courts remain closed on holidays and weekends.

If the DA files a petition, your child’s case will be tried in juvenile delinquency court.

Parental Responsibilities If Your Minor is Under Arrest

As the child offender’s parent/guardian, you have legal responsibilities if your child has been placed under arrest. You could also have financial obligations for any injury or damage your child caused. You may be required to pay the victim in question if the judge orders restitution— the money that compensates for damage and losses your child caused. For instance, you may need to pay for anything the minor stole or the victim’s lost wages and medical bills.

602 Proceedings

Technically, juvenile delinquency courts aren’t part of the state’s criminal law system. They’re part of the civil law system where child offender cases are decided. Juvenile delinquency court proceedings are at times called 602 proceedings after the California law section governing delinquency-related proceedings.

Judges preside over cases in juvenile courts. There are defense attorneys and prosecutors too, but there are no juries. Generally, juvenile court proceedings are confidential.

On 30th September 2018, Governor of California Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 439 into law. The bill only permits the juvenile court to have jurisdiction over a child below twelve years old if the child faces rape, murder, oral copulation, sodomy, or sexual penetration by violence, force, or threats of significant bodily injury. Otherwise, minors under twelve years cannot be prosecuted in juvenile delinquency court.

The juvenile delinquency court proceedings consist of four hearings — the detention hearing, fitness hearing, adjudication hearing, and disposition hearing.

The detention hearing occurs if the child is being detained in the juvenile hall. This hearing is similar to the arraignment hearing in adult criminal court. At this point, the judge decides whether the child can be released to their parents/guardian or must remain in custody until their case is over. Note that there’s no bail in the juvenile court process, and that’s why you should hire a skilled juvenile defense lawyer as soon as possible to try and convince the judge to set your child free at the detention hearing.

After the detention hearing comes the fitness hearing, also called the transfer hearing. It’s the hearing in which the judge decides whether the minor’s case will be transferred to adult criminal court or be heard in juvenile court. However, a transfer hearing doesn’t occur in most juvenile cases since the cases are generally heard in juvenile delinquency court.

The adjudication hearing, also called the jurisdiction hearing, follows the fitness hearing. This is a juvenile’s trial and is similar to a trial in adult criminal court. The child’s trial takes place before a juvenile court judge. The burden of proof in the adjudication hearing is the same as in adult court. The DA must present evidence that proves beyond any reasonable doubt to the judge that the minor committed an offense. The child also has a chance to defend themselves and has the right to a defense lawyer.

The judge doesn’t find a child innocent or guilty in the juvenile delinquency court system. Rather, should the judge find that the child committed the offense alleged beyond any reasonable doubt, they will sustain the petition that the DA filed. And if the judge sustains the DA’s petition, the child’s case proceeds to the disposition hearing, similar to the sentencing hearing in adult criminal court. At this hearing, the judge decides what sentence/disposition to impose upon the child offender.

Sentencing Options for Your Child

There are several different sentencing (disposition) options available in juvenile delinquency court. Unlike in adult criminal court, the sentencing options in juvenile delinquency court aren’t meant to punish the offender. Instead, they are generally intended to rehabilitate them, correct their behavior, and teach them how to be productive members of society before becoming adults.

The least harsh sentence your child could be subject to is informal probation. The child doesn’t admit to committing the crime, and their charges are dropped after they serve their informal probation.

The harshest sentence your child could face is the commitment to the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), formerly known as the CYA (California Youth Authority). This is the state prison for children. DJJ is housed within the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation).

Another sentence your child could face is the deferred entry of judgment (DEJ). Here, the child is required to admit that the petitioner's claims are true, and their case is dismissed after they complete the DEJ program. DEJ sentence is imposed if the juvenile’s crime is a first-time felony and isn’t classified under 707(b). The DEJ program lasts between twelve and thirty-six months.

The judge could also order a juvenile offender to pay a fine. If your child must pay a fine, the court will hold you responsible for paying the fine.

The judge can also make your child a ward of the court and sentence them to formal probation. At times, wards can serve their probation sentence at home despite the ‘wards of the court’ term. And in other instances, the judge will order that the child be placed in a group/relative’s home, juvenile hall, foster care, or probation camp.

Probation Conditions

When your child is sentenced to informal or formal probation, they will be required to comply with various probation conditions. Note that juvenile probation conditions differ substantially from adult probation. For minors, probation conditions include activities that can rehabilitate the child, including:

  • Curfew restrictions.
  • Compulsory school attendance.
  • Drug/alcohol abuse counseling.
  • Community service.
  • Not associating with particular people.
  • Victim restitution.
  • Graffiti removal.

Lasting Repercussions of Juvenile Sentencing

Unluckily, an offense that a person committed when still a child can follow them into their adulthood. Juvenile convictions, formally known as sustained petitions, are considered strikes under the state’s Three Strikes Law. Additionally, the California Rules of Court permit adult criminal courts to consider juvenile convictions when sentencing and probation decisions. Juvenile convictions can result in the requirement to register as a sex offender and civil confinement as a sexually violent predator.

Termination of Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of a juvenile delinquency court ends when a minor turns 21 years old. In a case where the child committed a 707(b) crime and was sent to a DJJ facility, jurisdiction may last until the child reaches twenty-five years old.

Sealing Juvenile Criminal Records

In less severe juvenile conviction cases, child offenders might be capable of sealing their juvenile criminal record if they successfully serve their sentence and don’t commit any other crime for a given period. Record sealing means that the record of your child’s criminal offenses before eighteen years won’t be accessible by the public. Therefore, employers won’t discover the record when conducting a background check when your child applies for a job. Your child can also deny having a juvenile record without being penalized. Also, your child may have an arrest record without a conviction or charge sealed.

The juvenile record sealing process isn’t automatic, and records of given types of crimes can never be sealed. These crimes include carjacking, robbery, arson, murder, several sex-related crimes, and any other violent felony. For your child to be able to have their record sealed, they must bring a petition to the juvenile delinquency court in the county where they were convicted and meet these criteria:

  • Be eighteen years and above.
  • Have no felony or misdemeanor conviction as a grownup of a crime that involves moral turpitude (immoral or dishonest behavior).
  • Have no unresolved civil litigation resulting from the juvenile criminal act.
  • Convince the judge that they are rehabilitated.

The Difference between Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Dependency

Juvenile Delinquency and juvenile dependency are two different laws. The juvenile delinquency law deals with children facing criminal charges, while juvenile dependency law focuses on minors who’ve been neglected, abandoned, or abused. When a child is mistreated at home and needs a person to care for them, the court may step in and make them a dependent child of the court.

The general guideline is that children must fall under either juvenile delinquency or juvenile dependency at a time, but not both simultaneously. But in particular cases, a child can fall under both jurisdictions. When this happens, the child is said to have dual status. For instance, when a dependent child of the court is arrested.

When a child falls under both juvenile dependency and juvenile delinquency systems, probation and social services departments must do a joint assessment to determine what system best suits the child and society.  The joint assessment report must include:

  • A statement from any CASA Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer presently appointed for the minor.
  • An account from any counsel currently representing the juvenile.
  • Any community agencies or services available to help the child and their family.
  • The history of involvement of any professionals or agencies with the child and their family.
  • The nature of the minor’s home environment.
  • The child’s functioning at school.
  • The parent’s cooperation with the minor’s school.
  • The previous record of the minor for delinquent or out-of-control behavior.
  • History of any sexual, emotional, or physical abuse of the minor.
  • History of the minor’s parents for abuse of this or any other minor.
  • The child’s age.
  • A description of the nature of the referral.

Find a Juvenile Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

Irrespective of how minor the charges against your child may seem, you want to retain the services of a skilled juvenile criminal defense lawyer for them. An experienced and knowledgeable lawyer can help mitigate both the severity of the charges and the long-term effect of those charges. At California Criminal Lawyer Group in Fresno, we have in-depth experience assisting juveniles and parents navigate the juvenile justice system to achieve the best outcome possible for a family. To learn more about how we can help you and your child, please call us at 559-712-8377 for a cost-free consultation.