Can a Juvenile Be Tried as an Adult?

Yes. A minor can be tried as an adult in some cases. Whether a case can move depends on the state where it is filed, the offense alleged and the child's age. Some states let a judge decide, some let a prosecutor choose and some exclude certain offenses outright.

A parent whose teenager has been arrested or charged may hear the words "adult court" and want to know whether that is a real possibility, who makes the decision, and what would change for the child if it happened. This page walks through how a case moves out of juvenile court, what a judge weighs, and how California's law reads as one worked example.

The Short Answer

Transfer to adult court is a decision about which court hears a case, not a decision about guilt. Across the United States, cases generally reach adult court in one of these ways: a juvenile court judge waives jurisdiction after a hearing, a prosecutor files in adult court where state law gives that choice, or the legislature has excluded certain offenses from juvenile court for youth of certain ages.

Which of these exists, and for which offenses and ages, is set by each state's law. The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) notes that "each State's processing of law violators is unique," and that practice can vary even from community to community within a state, according to its case flow overview.

California is used below as the worked example. Its rule is California's rule only.

How Juvenile Court Differs From Adult Court

The U.S. Supreme Court held in In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), that in proceedings to determine delinquency that may result in commitment to an institution in which the juvenile's freedom is curtailed, the child and the child's parents must be notified of the right to counsel, and that counsel will be appointed if they cannot afford one.

Juvenile court also uses its own words. A petition is the document that starts the case. An adjudication is the court's finding that the allegations are true, and it is not a conviction. A disposition is the court's order about what happens next, and it is not a sentence. A minor placed under the court's continuing supervision becomes a ward of the court.

Each state sets an upper age for juvenile court. OJJDP's glossary entry on the upper age of jurisdiction says states vary, with 17 the most common upper age, and that most states have exceptions that place some younger youth in adult court from the start. The juvenile court process generally runs from questioning and detention through disposition.

Ways a Case Can Move to Adult Court

Judicial waiver begins with a request. OJJDP describes a waiver petition filed when the prosecutor or intake officer believes a case would be "more appropriately handled in criminal court." The judge first finds whether there is probable cause to believe the youth committed the act. The judge then decides whether juvenile jurisdiction should be waived. If the judge agrees, the case is filed in criminal court. If not, an adjudicatory hearing is scheduled in juvenile court.

Prosecutor discretion exists where "the legislature has given the prosecutor the discretion of filing a defined list of cases in either juvenile or adult court." In those states, both courts share original jurisdiction, and the prosecutor picks.

Statutory exclusion means the legislature has decided a case starts in adult court. OJJDP explains that in most states, if a youth of a certain age is charged with an offense from a defined list of "excluded offenses," the case must begin in adult criminal court.

States do not all use the same combination of these routes, and the offense lists and ages attached to each differ.

What a Court Weighs at a Transfer Hearing

A transfer hearing is the hearing where a juvenile court judge decides whether the case stays in juvenile court or moves to adult court. It does not decide whether the child did what the petition alleges.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kent v. United States, 383 U.S. 541 (1966), held that a juvenile court's waiver of jurisdiction under the District of Columbia's Juvenile Court Act required a hearing that measures up to the essentials of due process and fair treatment, access by the child's counsel to the social records the court considers, and a statement of the court's reasons.

According to OJJDP, the decision "generally centers around the issue of whether the youth is amenable to treatment in the juvenile justice system," meaning whether the youth can be helped and rehabilitated there. A prosecutor may point to earlier adjudications and interventions that did not stop later conduct. A prosecutor may also argue that the offense is serious enough that juvenile court could not supervise the youth long enough to rehabilitate them.

The criteria a court considers, who carries the burden and the standard of proof are each set by state law, so they vary.

How California Handles Transfer: A Worked Example

This section describes California's rule under Welf. & Inst. Code § 707 and applies only to California. In California, transfer happens by a motion in juvenile court. The district attorney or other prosecuting officer "may make a motion to transfer the minor from juvenile court to a court of criminal jurisdiction."

The statute allows that motion in two situations:

• The minor was 16 or older at the time of an offense listed in § 707(b), or of "any other felony criminal statute."
• The individual was 14 or 15 at the time of a § 707(b) offense "but was not apprehended prior to the end of juvenile court jurisdiction."

The § 707(b) list includes murder, attempted murder, robbery, voluntary manslaughter, assault with a firearm or destructive device, assault by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, certain forcible sex offenses and certain kidnapping offenses. The list contains other offenses as well. Assault charges are covered on the page about California juvenile assault charges.

The motion must be made "prior to the attachment of jeopardy," which means before the adjudication begins. The court then orders a probation report on the minor's "behavioral patterns and social history," including any statement from the victim. To transfer the minor, the court must find "by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court." The court weighs five criteria:

• the minor's degree of criminal sophistication
• whether the minor can be rehabilitated before juvenile jurisdiction ends
• the minor's previous delinquent history
• the success of earlier attempts to rehabilitate the minor
• the circumstances and gravity of the alleged offense

For each criterion, the statute names factors the court must give weight to. These include the minor's age, maturity and mental and emotional health, childhood trauma, involvement in the child welfare or foster care system, the minor's "potential to grow and mature," and the adequacy of services previously provided.

If the court orders a transfer, it must state its reasons on the record. Any plea to the petition is postponed until the transfer hearing ends.

More on this process appears on the page about when a juvenile is tried as an adult. Other states' rules differ from California's.

What Changes When a Case Moves to Adult Court

Once a case is transferred, it proceeds under adult criminal procedure in the court where it is filed. A finding of guilt in adult court is a criminal conviction, not a juvenile adjudication, and any penalty imposed is a sentence.

The U.S. Supreme Court has limited the harshest adult sentences for people who were minors at the time of the offense:

• Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010), held that the Eighth Amendment does not permit a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life without parole for a non-homicide crime.
• Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), held that mandatory life without parole for those under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes violates the Eighth Amendment.

An adult conviction creates an adult criminal record. Whether that record can later be sealed or cleared depends on the state's rules for adult records, which differ from its rules for juvenile records and are not covered here. School, employment and housing consequences can follow, and 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.

Ages, Offenses, and How the Rules Vary by State

The upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction varies by state, and 17 is the most common, according to OJJDP. The upper age is only part of the picture. OJJDP notes that within most states, youth at or below that age can still fall under adult court's original jurisdiction through excluded-offense lists or prosecutor discretion.

Whether a state sets a minimum age for transfer, and what that age is, also depends on that state's law. The offenses that can trigger transfer or exclusion are set by each legislature. As California's § 707(b) shows, a state's list can be long and detailed.

Because of this variation, the same alleged conduct by a child of the same age can be handled differently depending on where the case is filed. A broader overview of how juvenile crimes are handled is available elsewhere on this site.

Juvenile Court Terms Every Family Should Know

Families often receive papers in juvenile court that use unfamiliar terms. These are the main ones.

• Petition: the document that starts a juvenile case.
• Detention hearing: the hearing where a judge decides whether a detained minor stays in custody. OJJDP states that in all states this hearing must be held within a time set by statute, "generally within 24 hours."
• Jurisdiction or adjudication hearing: the hearing where the court decides whether the petition's allegations are true.
• Disposition: the court's order after the petition is sustained, meaning found true.
• Ward of the court: a minor placed under the court's continuing supervision.
• Probation: supervision in the community, often with conditions such as counseling or restitution.
• Diversion: handling a case informally, without a formal adjudication. Sometimes the youth agrees to conditions in a written "consent decree." Eligibility varies.
• Transfer hearing: the hearing that decides whether a case moves to adult court.
• Record sealing: a court process that closes a juvenile record from view. Who can seek sealing and when it happens depend on state law. A juvenile record does not simply disappear at 18.

If You'd Like to Talk Through a Possible Transfer

This page explains how transfer works in general and in California. It does not cover every state's rules.

To request a consultation about a child's juvenile case, use Juvenile Justice Defense Group.