When a California minor is accused of a crime, the case usually goes to juvenile court, not adult court. It starts with a petition. A judge decides at a detention hearing whether the child stays in custody. A later hearing decides whether the allegations are true. The court focuses on rehabilitation, and a record can sometimes be sealed afterward.
Most parents facing this have just had a phone call from police or juvenile hall. Many are now holding a court paper full of words they have never seen, wondering whether their child will come home, what this means for school, and whether it will follow the child for life. This page walks through California's juvenile system the way the law sets it out, from the first police contact to record sealing, so each step has a name and a meaning.
What California Juvenile Court Is and Who It Covers
Welf. & Inst. Code § 602 gives the juvenile court authority over a minor who was "between 12 years of age and 17 years of age, inclusive," when he or she broke a state or federal law or a local ordinance defining a crime, other than an age-based curfew ordinance. The rule applies "except as provided in Section 707," the transfer statute. A child under 12 comes within the court's authority only for the offenses § 602(b) lists: murder, and rape, sodomy, oral copulation or sexual penetration by force, violence, duress, menace or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury.
The words differ from adult court. A case starts with a petition, a court paper that, as the California Courts self-help guide puts it, "says what the state thinks the youth did." The petition is not a criminal complaint and "does not mean the youth is guilty." If the judge finds it true, the petition is "sustained." That finding is an adjudication, a judge's decision that the child committed the offense, not a conviction. What the court then orders is a disposition, the court's plan for the child, not a sentence.
According to the Judicial Council's JV-060-INFO information sheet for parents, the juvenile court "helps to protect, guide, and rehabilitate children" and "helps keep the community safe." A juvenile defense attorney works inside that framework. For a fuller side-by-side, see juvenile court vs. adult court.
When Police Question or Arrest a Minor in California
Before custodial interrogation, meaning police questioning of a minor who is in custody and not free to leave, California law sets a firm rule. Welf. & Inst. Code § 625.6(a) states: "Prior to a custodial interrogation, and before the waiver of any Miranda rights, a youth 17 years of age or younger shall consult with legal counsel in person, by telephone, or by video conference. The consultation may not be waived." The statute has exceptions. It does not govern whether statements are admissible when an officer reasonably believed the information was needed to protect life or property from an imminent threat and asked only the questions reasonably needed to get it. It also does not require probation officers to comply in the normal performance of certain duties. The JV-060-INFO sheet adds that a child has the right to make at least two phone calls within one hour of arrest.
After an arrest, a minor delivered to a probation officer is investigated "immediately." Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 628, the officer must immediately release the minor to a parent, guardian or responsible relative. The exception is where staying in the home is contrary to the minor's welfare and one of three conditions exists: urgent necessity to protect the minor or reasonable necessity to protect another person or property, a likelihood of fleeing, or a violation of a juvenile court order.
Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 631, a minor in custody generally must be released within 48 hours, excluding nonjudicial days, unless a petition or criminal complaint is filed in that time. Section 632 sets the detention hearing, the first court appearance where a judge decides whether the child stays in custody. It must be held as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the next judicial day after the petition is filed. Shorter limits apply to certain nonviolent misdemeanors.
At that hearing, Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 635 and 636 require release unless specific grounds are shown. Detention orders are limited to 15 judicial days at a time. Home supervision means release home under conditions set by probation or the court, sometimes with electronic monitoring. Both sections require "equal consideration for release on home supervision" regardless of whether the minor lives in the county where the offense occurred.
How a Juvenile Case Moves Through California Court
The case formally begins when the district attorney or probation department files the petition, according to the self-help guide. The probation department is involved from the start. It handles intake, decides at first whether to release or hold the child, and later reports to the court.
If the child is held, the detention hearing comes first. The self-help guide notes that "unlike in adult court, there is no 'bail.'" Pretrial conferences follow, where, as JV-060-INFO explains, the lawyers and the probation officer try to resolve the case, and the child admits or denies the charges.
The jurisdiction hearing, also called the adjudication hearing, is the trial where the court decides whether the facts in the petition are true. According to the self-help guide, a judge decides, "there is not a jury trial," and the prosecution must prove the allegations "beyond a reasonable doubt."
If the petition is sustained, the disposition hearing follows. This is the hearing where the court decides what happens to the child. The court may declare the child a ward of the court, meaning the court takes ongoing authority over the child's supervision and care. Probation in this setting is court-ordered supervision at home or in placement, with conditions the child must meet. JV-060-INFO lists possible orders that include probation, wardship, and placement out of the home or commitment to a juvenile facility. The self-help guide describes secure youth treatment facilities as being "for youth who are found to have committed the most serious offenses."
Diversion is a path that may resolve a case without a sustained petition. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 654.2, with the consent of the minor and parents, the court may hold off on the petition for six months while the minor completes a program of supervision. If the minor succeeds, "the court shall order the petition be dismissed." Whether a child is eligible depends on the offense and the child's history. Each of these stages is where an attorney for juvenile charges raises the issues the law allows. For an overview written for families, see our parent's guide to juvenile court.
Transfer to Adult Court Under California Law
Few words frighten a parent more than "tried as an adult." A transfer hearing is the juvenile court hearing where a judge decides whether a case should move to adult criminal court. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(a), the prosecutor may make a transfer motion in only two situations. The first is an offense alleged to have been committed when the minor was 16 or older, whether it is an offense listed in § 707(b) or any other felony. The second is a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or 15 by someone who was not apprehended before juvenile court jurisdiction ended. The motion must be made before jeopardy attaches, which generally means before the trial begins.
Section 707(b) lists specific serious offenses. The self-help guide gives examples of serious offenses that "usually involve violence or weapons," such as "murder, rape, or crimes with a gun."
The legal standard is demanding. After the court receives a probation report on the minor's behavioral patterns and social history, which includes any victim statement, it "shall find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court" before ordering a transfer. Amenability to rehabilitation asks whether the juvenile system can help this young person change. The court weighs the criteria the statute specifies about the minor and the offense. If it orders a transfer, it must state its reasons in a written order.
The stakes are real. A transferred case is handled under adult rules, where the result can be a criminal conviction rather than a juvenile adjudication. Other states differ: the OJJDP case flow overview notes that in many states prosecutors may file certain cases directly in criminal court. California's § 707, as quoted here, works through a motion in juvenile court.
Sealing a Juvenile Record in California
Many parents have heard that a juvenile record goes away at 18. That is not how California law works. Sealing is a court order that closes the record so it is no longer open to inspection. It does not happen by itself on a birthday. The self-help guide notes that juvenile court files are already confidential, with access limited to certain parties.
Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 786, if a person satisfactorily completes informal supervision under § 654.2, probation under § 725, or a term of probation for any offense, "the court shall order the petition dismissed" and seal the related records. The arrest and proceedings are then deemed not to have occurred. There is an important exception. Under § 786(d), the court shall not seal a record or dismiss a petition under § 786 if the petition was sustained on a § 707(b) offense committed when the person was 14 or older. That bar lifts only if the finding on that offense was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor or to a lesser offense not listed in § 707(b).
Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 781, a person may petition for sealing five years or more after juvenile court jurisdiction ends, or at any time after turning 18. The court orders sealing only if it finds that, since jurisdiction ended, the person has not been convicted of a felony or of any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, and that rehabilitation has been attained to the court's satisfaction. For a § 707(b) offense committed after age 14 that resulted in wardship, a petition may be filed or considered only in the circumstances § 781(a)(1)(D) lists.
School discipline, college admissions, financial aid and employment consequences can follow a juvenile case. They depend on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover. Sealing questions are among the issues a juvenile defense attorney raises with the court near the end of a case.
What a California Juvenile Defense Attorney Does at Each Stage
Each hearing described above has a defense role, and the law shapes what that role can be.
At the detention hearing, a juvenile criminal defense attorney can argue for release or for home supervision under §§ 635 and 636, and can present evidence the statute allows the minor and counsel to offer. At the jurisdiction hearing, defense counsel can challenge the evidence and test whether the prosecution has proven the petition beyond a reasonable doubt. JV-060-INFO notes that "the law does not require a defense to be presented," and that the decision whether to admit a charge belongs to the child.
At disposition, counsel can present the child's background, school record and circumstances to the court. If a transfer motion is made, counsel can contest whether the evidence clearly and convincingly shows the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation. Diversion is another stage: counsel can raise whether a § 654.2 program may be available. After the case, counsel can address sealing under §§ 781 and 786, including the § 786(d) and § 781 limits.
None of this guarantees a result. Each outcome depends on the offense, the evidence, the child's history and the court's findings. This page covers the general structure of California juvenile proceedings. The facts of a specific case decide which stages apply. Readers looking at a particular charge may find more on how juvenile court handles school-related criminal charges and the wider topic of juvenile crimes in the U.S..
Talking With a Juvenile Defense Attorney About Your Child's Case
California's juvenile rules turn on exact details: the child's age on the date of the alleged offense, whether the offense is listed in § 707(b), and whether the child is held in custody. A consultation with our juvenile defense attorney can cover the petition and the charges it lists, the dates of the next hearings, whether the child is detained or on home supervision, and which stage the case has reached. This page does not cover school discipline proceedings that involve no criminal charge, or immigration law.
To talk through the hearings ahead, request a consultation about a child's juvenile case through Juvenile Justice Defense Group.