When a minor is charged in New Jersey, the case goes to the Family Part of the Superior Court as a juvenile delinquency matter, not adult criminal court. A detained child gets a hearing no later than the day after placement. Many cases are resolved outside formal court. Serious cases involving a child 15 or older can be waived to adult court, and some records can be expunged.

You may be reading this from a hallway outside a police station, or at the kitchen table after a phone call from a detention facility. Most parents facing a child's arrest in New Jersey are trying to answer the same questions at once: will my child come home tonight, what happens at the first hearing, could this end up in adult court, and what will it mean for school and for the years ahead. This page answers those questions in the order a New Jersey juvenile case tends to raise them.

How New Jersey Juvenile Court Works

New Jersey defines delinquency as an act by a juvenile under the age of 18 that, if committed by an adult, would be a crime, a disorderly persons offense, a petty disorderly persons offense, or a violation of any other penal statute, ordinance or regulation, according to the New Jersey Judiciary's parent guide. These cases are heard in the Family Part of the Superior Court.

The vocabulary differs from adult court, and the difference matters:

  • Complaint or petition: the charging document that alleges a delinquent act. The New Jersey Judiciary's guide refers to the charges as being "listed on the complaint."
  • Detention hearing: a hearing where a judge decides whether a child who is being held is released or stays in detention.
  • Adjudication hearing: the hearing where the court decides whether the child committed the alleged delinquent act. An adjudication is not a conviction.
  • Disposition: what the court orders after an adjudication. It is not a sentence.
  • Probation: supervision in the community by a probation officer, under conditions the judge sets.
  • Diversion: a way of resolving a matter outside formal court proceedings.
  • Waiver (transfer) hearing: the proceeding where a prosecutor asks the Family Part to send a case to adult court.
  • Expungement: New Jersey's process for clearing certain juvenile records. It is not automatic.

What Happens After a Minor Is Arrested in New Jersey

Pretrial detention in New Jersey requires permission. Under Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2020-12, a juvenile cannot be detained pretrial without the permission of a judge or Court Intake Services. State law limits detention to cases where a juvenile has failed to appear at court proceedings or where, for certain categories of offenses, release would seriously threaten the physical safety of persons or property in the community. The same directive lists factors a court may weigh for a juvenile 11 or older, including the juvenile's record of appearing or not appearing at past court proceedings.

If a child is held, the Judiciary's guide says an initial detention hearing takes place as soon as possible, but no later than the following day after placement. At that hearing, the family hears the charges and learns whether an attorney will be required. The court then decides whether to release or hold the child. If the child is not released, another hearing follows within two working days unless it is waived. At that hearing the child must have an attorney, and the prosecutor must present enough evidence to satisfy the judge that the offense occurred. The guide also says plainly that bail is not available for juveniles.

Not every case reaches a judge. The directive describes a presumption in favor of a stationhouse adjustment for certain conduct. A stationhouse adjustment is a police-level resolution handled instead of a delinquency complaint and recorded in a written agreement that lasts three to six months. Other matters go to a Juvenile Conference Committee, an Intake Services Conference or a juvenile referee. The Judiciary's guide notes that those settings do not require an attorney. These routes are not available in every case. Whether one is available depends on the conduct alleged, the child's history and the decisions of police, prosecutors and the court.

Common Charges Brought Against Juveniles in New Jersey

Juvenile complaints in New Jersey cover the same range of conduct that adult law covers. That includes disorderly persons offenses, more serious indictable offenses, drug charges, assault, theft, weapons offenses and incidents that begin at school. The difference is in what the complaint alleges. Conduct that would be a crime for an adult is charged as a delinquent act when the person is a juvenile.

How serious the alleged offense is can shape almost everything that follows. It affects whether diversion is possible, whether detention can be considered, whether a waiver motion can be filed and whether a record can later be expunged. The directive also links certain charges to identification steps. For example, New Jersey law forbids photographing a juvenile under 14 for criminal identification purposes without the court's approval or the consent of the juvenile and a parent or guardian.

Incidents at school often run on two tracks. A school can impose its own consequences, such as suspension or expulsion, separately from the court case. Those consequences depend on rules this page does not cover. School discipline with no police involvement is a different subject altogether.

Transfer to Adult Court in New Jersey

New Jersey calls the move to adult court a waiver of jurisdiction. Under P.L. 2015, chapter 89, a prosecutor seeking waiver without the juvenile's consent must file a motion within 60 days after receiving the complaint. A court may extend that time for good cause shown.

The court must waive jurisdiction and refer the case to adult court if two conditions are met. First, the juvenile was 15 years of age or older at the time of the alleged act. Second, there is probable cause to believe the juvenile committed a delinquent act that would be one of the offenses the law lists if committed by an adult. That list includes criminal homicide, other than death by auto. Waiver is still not automatic, because the court also reviews whether the State considered a set of statutory factors. The court may deny the motion if it is clearly convinced that the prosecutor abused his discretion in considering those factors. When a case is waived and detention is deemed necessary, the law presumes the juvenile will be held in a county juvenile detention facility unless good cause is shown otherwise.

A waiver hearing can change the entire course of a child's case. Its outcome turns on the child's age, the evidence of probable cause and the court's review of the prosecutor's reasoning. For a comparison with another state, see transfer under Pennsylvania law.

Adjudication and Disposition: What the Court Decides

New Jersey's juvenile process separates two questions: did the child commit the delinquent act, and if so, what should happen next. The adjudication hearing answers the first question. As the OJJDP case flow overview describes juvenile courts generally, witnesses are called and the facts are presented, and in nearly all such hearings a judge, not a jury, decides. The New Jersey Judiciary's guide says that in every formal court hearing before a judge, the child must have an attorney. If the family cannot afford one, the parent must submit a 5A form on the child's behalf so the court can decide whether the child is eligible for a public defender or a court-appointed attorney. If a parent fails to appear as the court requires to complete that application, the court may issue a warrant for the parent's arrest.

The disposition is the court's response after an adjudication. Probation is one option. According to the Judiciary's guide, it lets a juvenile remain in the community under a probation officer's supervision, and it can last up to three years. If conditions are not followed, consequences can include more frequent reporting or a curfew, and the child can be charged with a violation of probation (VOP). Other options the court can weigh include community service, counseling, residential programs and custodial placement. Which of these the court orders depends on the child, the offense and the court's findings.

Expunging a New Jersey Juvenile Record

Turning 18 does not clear a New Jersey juvenile record. New Jersey uses an expungement process. The Judiciary's guide says expungement of certain juvenile matters is permitted if five years have passed since the person's final discharge from legal custody or supervision, or if five years have passed since the entry of any other court order not involving custody or supervision. The guide also says certain offenses may not be expunged. The record is not erased by the passage of time. Expungement requires its own process, and whether a particular matter qualifies depends on the offense and on the specific case.

Many parents worry as much about this part as about the hearing itself, because it reaches into college applications and job interviews years from now. Consequences for school, employment and financial aid can follow a juvenile case, and they depend on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law, which this page does not cover. For how a different state handles sealing, see California juvenile record sealing.

What Juvenile Justice Defense Group Covers — and What It Does Not

This page covers delinquency cases against minors in New Jersey's Family Part. It does not cover adult criminal cases, except where a juvenile matter is waived to adult court. It also does not cover immigration law, school discipline appeals, or child welfare cases in which a parent is accused of abuse or neglect. The rules of other states appear on separate pages, such as Sacramento County juvenile cases in California.

Talking Through a New Jersey Juvenile Case

A New Jersey case can turn on the first two days: whether the child is held, what the complaint alleges, and whether a stationhouse adjustment, a conference committee or a waiver motion comes into play. A consultation can cover the charges on the complaint, the dates of the next hearing, whether the child is detained, and the stage the case has reached. This page covers New Jersey delinquency matters, not adult criminal cases or immigration questions. To discuss a case like this with an attorney, you can request a consultation about a child's juvenile case through Juvenile Justice Defense Group.