When a minor is charged with attempted murder, the case usually starts in juvenile court. The prosecution must prove the minor intended to kill and took a direct step toward killing. A judge decides whether the child stays in custody, whether the case can move to adult court and, if the allegation is found true, what happens next.
Most people facing this charge are parents or guardians who got a phone call they never expected. Their son or daughter is in custody, the word "murder" is on the paperwork, and someone has already mentioned adult court. They are trying to work out what the charge means, when their child might come home and whether one allegation now defines the rest of their child's life. This page walks through each stage of a juvenile attempted murder case, using California's statutes as the worked example and noting where other states differ.
What a Juvenile Attempted Murder Charge Actually Means
Attempted murder generally requires two things: a specific intent to kill, and a direct act toward killing that did not result in a death. That intent element separates it from assault or battery. A charge of assault focuses on the force used or threatened. A charge of attempted murder asks what the person meant to happen. A serious injury alone does not prove intent to kill, and an intent to kill can be alleged even where no one was badly hurt.
In juvenile court, the case begins with a petition: the document filed with the juvenile court that alleges the minor committed an offense. It plays the role a charging document plays in adult court. In California, a minor between 12 and 17, inclusive, who violates a criminal law is generally within juvenile court jurisdiction, except as § 707 provides, and a minor under 12 is also within that jurisdiction when alleged to have committed murder or certain forcible sex offenses (Welf. & Inst. Code § 602). The court decides whether the petition is true at the adjudication, the juvenile court's hearing on the facts, which the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention describes as the juvenile counterpart to a trial. If the petition is sustained, the court makes a disposition: its decision about consequences. Juvenile courts use these terms instead of "conviction" and "sentence."
California lists attempted murder among the offenses in Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(b). That listing matters for transfer and for sealing, discussed below. It is California's rule. The ages a juvenile court covers, how the charge is defined and what consequences follow all differ by state, and the OJJDP notes that states vary in their upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction. An attorney for a minor charged with attempted murder starts by reading the petition against the elements the prosecution must prove.
How Juvenile Court Handles an Attempted Murder Case
The first decision happens before a judge is involved. In California, when police deliver a minor to the probation officer, the officer must investigate immediately and release the minor to a parent, guardian or responsible relative, unless continuing in the home is contrary to the minor's welfare and at least one condition exists: detention is an immediate and urgent necessity to protect the minor or reasonably necessary to protect another person or property, the minor is likely to flee, or the minor has violated a juvenile court order (Welf. & Inst. Code § 628).
A minor who stays in custody comes before a judge at the detention hearing, the first court appearance, where the judge decides whether the minor remains in custody or goes home. The OJJDP case flow summary notes that every state sets the hearing's timing by statute, generally within 24 hours. In California, the court must release the minor unless the same grounds appear, and it may weigh the circumstances and gravity of the alleged offense along with other factors (Welf. & Inst. Code § 635). A detention order may last no longer than 15 judicial days at a time (§ 636). Under § 635(b)(2) and § 636, a minor must get equal consideration for release on home supervision regardless of whether the minor lives in the county where the offense occurred. That is a rule against treating out-of-county minors differently, not a general preference for home supervision.
At adjudication, the OJJDP notes that in nearly all cases a judge decides whether the petition is true, though some states give a jury right. If it is sustained, the court may make the minor a ward of the court, placing the minor under the court's ongoing supervision. A disposition can include probation, a period of supervision with conditions, and for a sustained attempted murder petition the options can range from probation to commitment to a secure youth treatment facility, depending on the facts and the court's findings. California's Division of Juvenile Justice no longer operates. Diversion, resolving a case without a formal adjudication on conditions the minor meets, appears in the OJJDP's description of informal handling, though whether it is open in a given case depends on the state and the charge. A juvenile defense attorney appears at each of these hearings. More on how these stages fit together is in our page on juvenile felony defense.
When a Juvenile Attempted Murder Case Can Move to Adult Court
"Will my child be tried as an adult?" is often the first question parents ask, and in California the answer turns on a transfer hearing: a proceeding where the juvenile court decides whether the case should move to adult criminal court.
Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(a), the prosecution may make a transfer motion only for an offense alleged to have been committed when the minor was 16 or older, if the offense is listed in § 707(b) or is any other felony, or for a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or 15 by a person not apprehended before juvenile court jurisdiction ended. Attempted murder is listed in § 707(b). The motion must be made before jeopardy attaches. The court then orders the probation officer to prepare a report on the minor's behavioral patterns and social history, including any statement offered by the victim. The court may order transfer only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the juvenile court's jurisdiction.
If a case is transferred, the minor is tried in adult criminal court under adult rules, and an adult conviction and sentence become possible. The differences between the two systems are set out in our page on juvenile court vs. adult court.
These are California's rules. Other states use different ages, offense lists and standards, and the OJJDP glossary notes that in most states certain cases involving youth of certain ages must originate in adult criminal court. Because the court weighs amenability on evidence, the transfer hearing is a stage where a juvenile criminal defense attorney's preparation shapes what the judge has in front of it.
What Police Questioning of a Minor Involves
California sets a firm rule for custodial questioning. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 625.6(a), before a custodial interrogation and before the waiver of any Miranda rights, a youth 17 years of age or younger must consult with legal counsel in person, by telephone or by video conference. The consultation may not be waived.
When a court later decides whether a youth's statements can be used, § 625.6(b) requires it to consider the effect of any failure to follow that rule, and to consider any willful violation in judging the officer's credibility. Two limits apply. The rule does not govern admissibility where the officer reasonably believed the information was necessary to protect life or property from an imminent threat and asked only questions reasonably necessary to get it. And it does not require a probation officer to comply in the normal performance of certain duties under §§ 625, 627.5 or 628.
This is California's statute, and other states set their own rules for questioning minors. For many parents, this section comes too late: the questioning has already happened. Whether it complied with the law becomes a question a juvenile defense attorney can raise later in the case. California's broader framework is covered in our page on California juvenile defense.
Defense Approaches in Juvenile Attempted Murder Cases
Intent to kill is where many attempted murder cases are contested. The prosecution must prove what the minor meant to do, and that is often argued from circumstances rather than shown directly. An attorney for juvenile charges examines whether the evidence actually supports intent to kill, or points instead to a lesser offense.
Other questions commonly examined include whether an identification is reliable, whether statements were obtained in compliance with the minor's rights, including § 625.6 in California, and whether the minor's age and circumstances bear on the court's findings.
The work spans every stage. At the detention hearing, the attorney addresses the release grounds the court must weigh. At a transfer hearing, the attorney presents evidence and argument on whether the minor is amenable to rehabilitation under juvenile court jurisdiction, the finding § 707 requires before transfer. At adjudication, the attorney tests the prosecution's proof. At disposition, the attorney argues for the least restrictive outcome consistent with the court's findings. None of these approaches guarantees a result; each depends on the evidence and on the court.
Record Sealing After a Juvenile Attempted Murder Case
A juvenile record does not disappear or seal itself at 18. Sealing is a court order that closes the record and, in most circumstances, allows the person to say the matter did not occur. In California, two statutes govern it, and both are limited for an offense like attempted murder.
Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 786, when a person satisfactorily completes informal supervision under § 654.2, probation under § 725 or a term of probation for any offense, the court must dismiss the petition and seal the records. But under § 786(d), the court shall not seal a record or dismiss a petition under § 786 if the petition was sustained based on a § 707(b) offense committed when the individual was 14 or older, unless the finding on that offense was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor or to a lesser offense not listed in § 707(b). Attempted murder is a § 707(b) offense.
Under § 781, the person or the county probation officer may petition for sealing five years or more after juvenile court jurisdiction ended, or at any time after the person turns 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.
Sealing rules vary by state. School discipline, college admissions and employment consequences can follow a juvenile case and depend on facts and rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover.
Talking With a Juvenile Defense Attorney About Your Child's Case
An attempted murder petition brings detention, transfer and sealing questions together in one case, often within days, and the answers turn on dates, ages and findings that differ from one child to the next. A consultation with our juvenile defense attorney can cover the petition itself, the hearing dates already set, whether the child is detained and the stage the case has reached. This page explains how the law works; it does not cover the facts of any particular child's case.
To discuss a case like this, contact Juvenile Justice Defense Group to request a consultation about a child's juvenile case.