When a child is arrested, a peace officer has several options. The officer may release the child to a parent or guardian with a written notice to appear, or take the child to a juvenile facility. If the child is held, a judge decides at a detention hearing whether the child stays in custody. The case then moves through juvenile court, which is separate from adult criminal court.
A parent whose child has been arrested may be unsure where the child is, whether anyone is questioning the child, and what happens next for school and for the child's future. This page walks through that sequence in order. It covers custody, the rights that apply during questioning, the hearings that follow, when a case can move to adult court, and what can happen to the record. California's rules are the worked example throughout, and each one is labeled as California's rule.
What Happens When a Child Is Arrested
California's juvenile law describes this step as a peace officer taking a minor into "temporary custody" (Welf. & Inst. Code § 625). In practice the effect is the same: the child is not free to leave.
An officer who takes a minor into temporary custody may, among other options, release the minor to a parent or guardian on a written notice to appear before the probation officer, or take the minor before the probation officer. When a minor is taken before a probation officer at a juvenile hall or another place of confinement, Welf. & Inst. Code § 627 requires the officer to take immediate steps to notify the minor's parent, guardian or a responsible relative that the minor is in custody and where the minor is being held.
From here on, the case runs in juvenile court, not adult criminal court. That court uses its own words for each step, and this page uses them too.
Which children juvenile court covers depends on state law. In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 602 places a minor within juvenile court jurisdiction if the minor was between 12 and 17, inclusive, when the minor allegedly broke a state or federal law or a local criminal ordinance. Curfew ordinances based only on age are excluded, and § 707 provides an exception. California's § 602 also reaches children under 12 for certain very serious alleged offenses, including murder and certain forcible sex offenses. Other states set different ages, so no single age rule applies everywhere.
Your Child's Rights During Police Questioning
The United States 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, with counsel appointed if they cannot afford one, and that the privilege against self-incrimination applies to juveniles as it does to adults. In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 625 requires an officer who takes a minor into temporary custody on reasonable cause to believe the minor is a person described in Section 601 or 602 to advise the minor that anything said can be used against the minor, and of the minor's constitutional rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to have counsel present during any interrogation, and the right to have counsel appointed if unable to afford counsel. These are rights the law provides. How they apply in a given case depends on the facts.
California goes further. Welf. & Inst. Code § 625.6 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."
California's statute has limits. A court deciding whether a youth's statements can be used must consider whether this requirement was not followed. The requirement does not govern admissibility when an officer reasonably believed the information sought 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 apply to a probation officer carrying out certain normal duties. This is California's rule.
The Juvenile Court Process: From Detention to Disposition
A juvenile case moves through a short list of named stages. This is the part that feels most foreign to parents, so each term is defined here once. The full juvenile court process has its own page.
A petition is the formal document the prosecutor files to start a juvenile case. It is not a criminal complaint. A detention hearing is the hearing at which a judge or referee decides whether a minor taken into custody will be detained further.
California sets firm timelines for these steps. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 631, a minor taken into custody generally must be released within 48 hours, excluding nonjudicial days, unless a petition or a criminal complaint is filed in that time. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 632, a detained minor must be brought before the court as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the next judicial day after the petition is filed. Section 632(b) sets a separate limit of 48 hours after the minor is taken into custody, excluding nonjudicial days, when the minor was taken into custody without a warrant on the belief that the minor committed a misdemeanor involving no violence, threat of violence, or possession or use of weapons, and is not currently on probation or parole. If a deadline is missed, § 632 requires release. Other states set their own timelines.
At the hearing, Welf. & Inst. Code § 635 requires release unless one of these conditions appears:
- the minor violated a juvenile court order
- the minor escaped a juvenile court commitment
- detention is a matter of immediate and urgent necessity to protect the minor
- detention is reasonably necessary to protect another person or property
- the minor is likely to flee
The court may weigh how serious the alleged offense is alongside other factors. It may also order home supervision, with or without electronic monitoring. Section 635 also requires release unless a prima facie showing has been made that the minor is a person described in Section 601 or 602. These are California's rules.
Diversion is a process that may resolve a case without a formal finding. Whether and how it is available varies by state. California, for example, recognizes informal programs of supervision.
At the jurisdiction hearing, also called an adjudication hearing, the court decides whether the allegations are true. If they are, the court holds a disposition hearing to decide what happens next. A disposition is not a sentence. The court may declare the child a ward of the court, meaning a minor placed under the court's supervision.
Possible dispositions include probation, which is court-ordered supervision with conditions. They can also include community service, counseling, placement outside the home or secure confinement. Which one a court chooses depends on the offense and the child's history. California no longer operates its Division of Juvenile Justice, so secure options today depend on current law and the court.
When a Juvenile Case Can Move to Adult Court
A transfer hearing is where a juvenile court decides whether a minor's case should move to adult criminal court. Transfer rules vary widely from state to state. The page on a juvenile being tried as an adult covers this topic in more depth.
In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 707 lets the prosecutor ask for a transfer in two situations. The first is when a minor was 16 or older at the time of an alleged offense listed in § 707(b) or any other felony. The second is when a minor was 14 or 15 at the time of a listed offense but was not apprehended before juvenile court jurisdiction ended. The motion must be made before jeopardy attaches. Jeopardy is the point in a case after which the same charge generally cannot be tried again. Once the motion is made, the court orders a probation report on the minor's behavior and social history. That report includes any statement from the victim.
To transfer a case, the court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation in juvenile court. The court considers these criteria:
- the minor's criminal sophistication, weighed with age, maturity, trauma and outside pressure
- whether the minor can be rehabilitated before juvenile court jurisdiction ends
- the minor's previous delinquent history
- the success of earlier attempts at rehabilitation
- the circumstances and gravity of the alleged offense
California's statute also has the court postpone the child's plea until the transfer hearing ends. If a case is transferred, the minor faces adult criminal court procedures and the penalties that court can impose. These are California's rules.
Juvenile Records: What They Are and What Can Happen to Them
A juvenile record can include arrest information, court files and probation records. For a parent already worried about school, this is often the heaviest question. School discipline, college admissions, financial aid and employment consequences can follow a juvenile case. Whether they do depends on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover.
A record does not disappear or seal itself at 18. In California, Welf. & Inst. Code § 786 generally requires the court to dismiss the petition and seal the records when a person satisfactorily completes informal supervision or probation. Satisfactory completion means no new finding of wardship and no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude during the supervision or probation, and no failure to substantially comply with reasonable orders that are within the person's capacity to perform. Unpaid restitution alone does not count as failing. Section 786 also requires sealing when a petition is dismissed or not sustained. Sealing under § 786 is generally not available for an offense listed in § 707(b) committed at 14 or older, unless that finding was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor or to an offense not on that list.
Welf. & Inst. Code § 781 lets a person petition for sealing in either of two ways:
- five or more years after juvenile court jurisdiction ends
- at any time after turning 18
The court must find no later felony conviction, no later conviction for a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, and rehabilitation to its satisfaction. Stricter conditions apply to § 707(b) offenses committed at 14 or older that led to wardship, unless the finding was dismissed or reduced to a misdemeanor. For those offenses, a petition may be filed only after the person has reached 21 if committed to the Division of Juvenile Facilities, or 18 if not, and has completed probation supervision. A record of a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older for which registration is required under Penal Code § 290.008 is not sealed. Once records are sealed, the proceedings are deemed never to have occurred, though §§ 781 and 786 each list limited circumstances in which a sealed record may still be accessed. These are California's rules. Other states' sealing rules differ, and sealing may not end every consequence.
What a Juvenile Defense Attorney Does in These Cases
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), held 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. The page on juvenile defense covers this role more broadly.
At each stage, defense counsel has a distinct job. At the detention hearing, counsel can present evidence and argue for release, including release on home supervision. At adjudication, counsel tests the prosecution's evidence. At disposition, counsel presents information about the child's needs and circumstances. If a transfer motion is filed, counsel answers the criteria the court must weigh.
Throughout a case, a defense attorney looks at how the stop and arrest happened, whether the child's rights were observed during questioning, what the evidence shows and what options exist at each stage. The outcome in any case depends on the facts and the court. The page on juvenile crimes explains how specific offenses move through this system.
This page explains how juvenile cases generally work and what defense counsel does. It does not cover every state's rules or every possible outcome.
If You'd Like to Talk Through Your Child's Case
This page does not cover every state's rules, every possible outcome, immigration law or the costs of legal help. To request a consultation about a child's juvenile case, use Juvenile Justice Defense Group.